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 go to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy 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 made more than 10 contact the last thirty minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, 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 informs his bookie on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.

For more than three decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates prosper in the nation.

'Black money'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting wagering 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 bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

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

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which dominate the market.

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 help secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications in the performance 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 2 years after some players and team authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

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

"I do not mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a substantial service opportunity for certified bookies and worldwide online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.

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

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have an extremely reliable technique of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But many likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting since (some) people would not want to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to put huge bets will never bet legally.

Approval concern

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

"Despite the fact that lots of people are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least an argument has ignited around a topic - which till now was considered a taboo.