Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 runs to win against Australia.

In his home located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his best hand.

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets all set to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.

And a few minutes later his forecast comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.

For more than three decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting syndicates flourish in the country.

'Black money'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal opportunity, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of gaming in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web gambling, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with overseas companies.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online gaming," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline gaming", done through phone calls which control the market.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes in the functioning of India's cricket regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal came to light.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and group authorities were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will generate tax profits for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the right direction.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a big company chance for licensed bookmakers and global online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make transactions included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will need to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering because (some) individuals wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to place huge bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to offer.

"Even however lots of people are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their territory.

"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of a debate has ignited around a topic - which till now was considered a taboo.