For Sports Gambling To Be Legalised

Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting 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 needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.


In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is enjoying the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his best hand.


He has actually made more than 10 hire the last thirty minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising 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 changed his mind.


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


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


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


For more than three years he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.


Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful wagering syndicates grow in the country.
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'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 money is directed towards cricket.


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


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


The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gaming, there is nothing similar here.
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And offshore sports betting business are using this loophole to draw Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have signed up accounts with overseas companies.


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


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


Calls for legalisation


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


The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes in the functioning 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 been banned for 2 years after some players and group authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.


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


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


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


It would likewise open a huge company opportunity for certified bookies and international online wagering business to establish operations in India.
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And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make deals involved in sports betting more transparent.


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


But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.


However, there are constraints.


"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) individuals wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.


He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to position big bets will never ever bet 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.
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"Even though many individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.


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


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


Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has actually fired up around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.