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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India requiring 17 go to win versus Australia.
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In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match but to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

And a few minutes later on his forecast comes to life, 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 years he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, unlawful wagering syndicates prosper in the country.

'Black money'

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 gambling money is directed towards cricket.

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

The majority of these transactions involve so-called "black money", which is cash not stated to the taxman.
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The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of gaming in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gambling, there is nothing similar here.
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And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to entice Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with overseas companies.

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes in the performance of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some players and team officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

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

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

"I don't mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a huge service opportunity for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have a really efficient technique of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are constraints.
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"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not want to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to position big bets will never ever bet legally.
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Approval question

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.
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"Despite the fact that numerous individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their area.

"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually sparked around a topic - which until now was thought about a taboo.