Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
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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.
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In his two-bedroom house situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is watching the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he's changed his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookmaker 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 made $200 today," he says 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 illegal in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, distributes grow in the nation.

'Black money'

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 sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal avenue, punters put 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 highest private run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web gambling, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas wagering companies are using this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gambling," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the country's favourite sport.
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The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest modifications in the functioning of India's cricket regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some gamers and group officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the ideal direction.

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

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

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But many likewise think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

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

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to put big bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Even however many individuals are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable issue for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this becoming a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has fired up around a topic - which until now was thought about a taboo.
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