Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is viewing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his ideal hand.

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier 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 prediction 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 3 decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

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

'Black money'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gaming in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web gambling, there is nothing similar 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 individuals have registered accounts with overseas companies.

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

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications in the functioning of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal emerged.

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 behest of bookmakers.

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

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

"I do not mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a huge company opportunity for certified bookmakers and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have an extremely effective technique of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

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

However, there are constraints.

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

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted cash to position big bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval concern

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

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

"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of a debate has actually sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.