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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
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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 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.

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

And a couple of minutes later his forecast comes true, 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 3 decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting syndicates grow in the nation.

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of sports betting in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding internet sports betting, there is nothing comparable here.

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

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which control the marketplace.

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, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

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 wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some players and group officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

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

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

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

It would also open a substantial service opportunity for licensed bookmakers and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have an extremely effective approach of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But lots of likewise think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will have to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting because (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to position big bets will never bet legally.

Approval concern

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

"Although many individuals are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

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

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has actually sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.
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