Howzat? The to legalise sports betting wagering 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 needing 17 go to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located 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 smart phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match however to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to face the last over he’s changed his mind.
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“I believe India is winning, make the modification,” he tells his bookie on the phone.

And a few minutes later on his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

“I have made $200 today,” he says with a childish glee.

For more than 3 decades he’s been sports betting on cricket matches. We can’t expose his name as what he’s doing is unlawful in India.

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

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

Without any legal avenue, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.
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Most of these deals include so-called “black cash”, which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

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

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

But in spite of this, it is “offline gambling”, done through telephone call which control the market.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India’s Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help clamp down on corruption in the country’s preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established 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 came to light.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and team officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

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

“I do not mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can gamble openly,” says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a substantial organization opportunity for licensed bookmakers and global online wagering business to set up operations in India.

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

“If you work along with sports betting business, you will have a very efficient method of marking out match repairing,” says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But many also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are restrictions.

“Definitely there will be illegal wagering because (some) people wouldn’t wish to leave an audit path by getting in the white market,” states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

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

“Despite the fact that many individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it’s still a questionable problem for many,” says our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
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“The procedure is so long and challenging that it will take years,” says Mr Ranina.“That’s why, we are negative about this becoming a truth anytime quickly.”

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, at least a debate has ignited around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.