For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India requiring 17 go to win versus Australia.

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

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman gets all set to face 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 few minutes later his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful wagering distributes flourish in the country.

'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 gambling money is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal opportunity, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to . Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting internet gambling, there is nothing similar here.

And offshore wagering business are utilizing this loophole to entice 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 escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gaming," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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 sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some players and group authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

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 gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the right direction.

"I don't mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket bettor.

It would also open a substantial business opportunity for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

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

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

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

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering due to the fact that (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to place big bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval concern

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

"Despite the fact that many individuals are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

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

"The process is so long and tricky 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 idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the first time, at least an argument has actually sparked around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.