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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 requiring 17 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing 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 made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman gets all set to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookie on the phone.
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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 childish glee.

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

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

'Black cash'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting 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 bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

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

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

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

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gaming," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

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

Require legalisation
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The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend modifications 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 came to light.
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Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some players and team officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax earnings for the that could amount to $2bn a year.

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

"I don't mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket bettor.

It would also open a substantial company chance for licensed bookies and international online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have a very effective approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But numerous also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are constraints.
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"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) people would not want to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted cash to position huge bets will never gamble lawfully.
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Approval concern

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

"Although lots of people are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a separate 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 negative 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 sparked around a subject - which until now was considered a taboo.