bit.ly
Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
bit.ly
Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page
bit.ly
Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

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

He has made more than 10 employ the last thirty minutes - not to discuss the match but to keep modifying his bet.

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

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.

And a few minutes later on 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 childlike glee.

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

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

'Black money'

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

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

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

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

And offshore wagering are using this loophole to entice Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have signed up accounts with offshore companies.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which dominate the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the country's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some players and team officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

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

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

It would likewise open a huge business chance for licensed bookmakers and international online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

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

"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have a really reliable technique of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But numerous likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering because (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to offer.

"Even though lots of individuals are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And considered 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 challenging that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has ignited around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.
bet9ja.com