Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page
bet9ja.com
Copy link

About sharing

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 home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his ideal hand.

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

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

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

And a few minutes later on his forecast comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal sports betting distributes flourish in the country.
bit.ly
'Black cash'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.
bit.ly
Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not stated to the taxman.

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

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

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.
bet9ja.com
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up 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 banned for two years after some players and team authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

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

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

It would likewise open a huge organization opportunity for licensed bookies and global online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have a very reliable method of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But many also think, that the taxes imposed 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) people would not want 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 legally.

Approval question

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

"Although many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," says 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 in their territory.

"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of a debate has fired up around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.