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 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 seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to face the last over he's changed his mind.
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"I think India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookie on the phone.

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

"I have 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.

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal wagering distributes thrive in the nation.

'Black money'

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

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

The majority of these transactions include "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web sports betting, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.
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But despite this, it is "offline gaming", 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 appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would help clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes 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 actually been banned for 2 years after some gamers and team officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the ideal instructions.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big business opportunity for certified bookmakers and international online sports betting business to establish operations in India.
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And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make deals involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside wagering companies, you will have a very effective technique of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But many likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are limitations.

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

He adds that people who use unaccounted cash to put huge bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to offer.
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"Even however lots of people are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial issue for many," says our unnamed punter.
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And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a truth anytime soon."

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