For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

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 requiring 17 runs to win against Australia.


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


He has actually made more than 10 hire the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep revising his bet.


Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares 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 real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.


"I have made $200 today," he states with a childlike glee.


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


Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes grow in the country.


'Black cash'


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


Without any legal avenue, punters place 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 greatest specific run scorer.


Most of these deals include 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 prohibiting internet gambling, there is nothing comparable here.


And offshore wagering business are using this loophole to draw Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore companies.


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


But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which control the market.


Calls for legalisation


The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would assist clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.


The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest changes in the performance of India's cricket regulatory 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 been prohibited for two years after some players and team officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.


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


Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the best instructions.


"I do not mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.


It would likewise open a big service chance for licensed bookies 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 assisting make deals included in gambling more transparent.


"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have a really efficient approach of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.


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


However, there are restrictions.


"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.


He adds that people who use unaccounted cash to place huge bets will never bet lawfully.


Approval question


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


"Although many individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.


And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their territory.


"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."


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