bet9ja-promo-code-yohaig

Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
bit.ly
Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing
bet9ja.com
By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is watching the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.
bit.ly
He has made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

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

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.
bet9ja.com
For more than three years he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting syndicates prosper in the country.

'Black cash'

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

Without any legal avenue, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

Most of these deals include so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.
bet9ja.com
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gaming in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting internet gambling, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And offshore sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with overseas firms.

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

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would help clamp down on corruption in the sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest 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 emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax earnings for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the right instructions.
bet9ja.com
"I do not mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a huge company chance for licensed bookies and worldwide online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have a really efficient approach of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But numerous likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting since (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to position big bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to sell.
bit.ly
"Despite the fact that many individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their area.

"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the first time, a minimum of an argument has fired up around a topic - which till now was thought about a taboo.