For Sports Gambling To Be Legalised

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


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By Sameer Hashmi


Mumbai Business reporter
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It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.


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


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


Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets all set to face the last over he's changed his mind.
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"I believe India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.


And a few minutes later on his forecast comes to life, 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 3 decades he's been banking 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 permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates thrive in the country.


'Black cash'


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


With no legal avenue, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.


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


The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web sports betting, there is absolutely nothing similar here.


And offshore wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with offshore companies.


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


But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which control the market.


Require legalisation


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


The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest changes 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 came to light.


Two franchises have been banned for two years after some players and team officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish 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 don't mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket gambler.


It would likewise open a huge organization opportunity for certified bookmakers and international online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.


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


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


But lots of likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.


However, there are restrictions.


"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.


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


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 difficult idea to sell.


"Even however lots of people are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.


And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
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"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a reality anytime soon."


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