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 reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is watching the video game, nervously. He’s sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has made more than 10 contact the last thirty minutes – not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he’s altered his mind.

“I think India is winning, make the change,” he informs his bookie on the phone.

And a few minutes later on his prediction comes real, 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 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 permitted in India. Despite that, illegal 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 market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

Most of these deals include so-called “black cash”, which is cash not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gaming, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to . Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with overseas firms.

“Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting,” says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is “offline gambling”, done through call which dominate the market.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications 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 actually been prohibited for two years after some gamers and group authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the best instructions.

“I don’t mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly,” states our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a huge organization chance for licensed bookies and international online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

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

“If you work together with wagering business, you will have a very efficient technique of stamping out match fixing,” states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But many also believe, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are restrictions.

“Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit path by getting in the white market,” states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to place huge bets will never gamble legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to offer.

“Despite the fact that lots of people are included in some sort of gaming – it’s still a controversial issue for numerous,” says our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural – each state will have to also 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 cynical about this becoming a truth anytime quickly.”

Yet with the concept having been backed by a main panel for the first time, at least a dispute has actually fired up around a subject – which up until now was thought about a taboo.