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 against Australia.
In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is watching the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

He has made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match but to keep revising his bet.
Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to face the last over he's altered his mind.
"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.
And a few minutes later on his forecast comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.
"I have made $200 today," he says with a childlike 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.
Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal wagering syndicates grow in the country.
'Black cash'
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 sports betting money is directed towards cricket.
With no legal opportunity, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.
The majority of these transactions involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gambling, there is nothing comparable here.

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

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is uncertain for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.
But regardless of this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which control the market.
Calls for legalisation
The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually 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 favourite sport.
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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 sports betting scandal came to light.
Two franchises have actually been banned for 2 years after some players and group officials were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.
The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.
Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the best direction.
"I don't mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.
It would also open a huge business chance for certified bookmakers and international online wagering companies to establish operations in India.
And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make transactions included in gambling more transparent.
"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have a really effective method of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.
But numerous likewise think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.
However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering because (some) individuals wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.
He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to position huge bets will never ever bet lawfully.
Approval concern
For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to sell.
"Despite the fact that many individuals are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial issue for lots of," says our unnamed punter.
And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.
"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 been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least a debate has actually fired up around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.
