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 needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.

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

He has actually made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

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

Other than horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal wagering distributes flourish in the nation.

'Black cash'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

The majority of these transactions 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, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gambling, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to draw Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering 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 favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest 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 actually been prohibited for two years after some gamers and team officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

Even gamblers 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 publicly," states our cricket bettor.

It would likewise open a big business opportunity for certified bookmakers and worldwide online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make transactions included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have an extremely effective method of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But lots of also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) individuals wouldn't wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to put big bets will never bet lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Although many individuals are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable concern for many," states our unnamed punter.

And offered 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 difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the first time, at least an argument has fired up around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.