Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 runs to win against Australia.

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

He has made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookmaker 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 made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.

For more than 3 decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Other than horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal wagering syndicates thrive 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 sports betting money is directed towards cricket.

With no legal avenue, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

Most of these transactions involve so-called "black money", which is money not stated 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 forbiding internet sports betting, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

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

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

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through call which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel designated 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 recommend changes in the functioning of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some players and group authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will generate tax profits for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

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

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

It would also open a big service opportunity for licensed bookies and worldwide online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make deals involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a really reliable approach of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But many likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting because (some) people wouldn't desire to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted money to put huge bets will never gamble lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Despite the fact that lots of people are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," 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 gambling in their territory.

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

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has actually sparked around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.