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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 reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

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

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

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

And a couple of minutes later on his forecast comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

For more than 3 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 enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting distributes flourish in the country.

'Black cash'

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

With no legal avenue, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

The majority of these transactions include so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a web sports betting, there is nothing similar here.

And offshore sports betting business are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually registered accounts with overseas firms.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest 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 sports betting scandal came to light.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some gamers and team authorities were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request 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 bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the best instructions.

"I do not mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a big company opportunity for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make deals included in gambling more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have a really reliable technique of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting because (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to place huge bets will never gamble legally.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a new law, and politically this will be a tough idea to offer.

"Although lots of people are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

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

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

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has ignited around a subject - which until now was considered a taboo.