Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
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5 February 2016

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is watching the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 hire 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 gets all set 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 couple of minutes later 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 three decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose 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, prohibited wagering distributes thrive in the nation.
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'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 cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.
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The majority of these transactions include so-called "black money", which is money not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gaming, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

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

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would help secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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.

Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some gamers and group authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

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

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

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

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

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

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have a really efficient method of stamping out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to put big bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval concern

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

"Although lots of people are involved in some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has sparked around a subject - which until now was considered a taboo.
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