Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

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

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

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

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

Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes flourish in the nation.

'Black cash'

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

With no legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

Most of these deals include so-called "black cash", which is money 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 forbiding internet sports betting, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And overseas wagering business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with overseas companies.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline gaming", done through call which control the marketplace.

Calls for 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 help clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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 sports betting scandal came to light.

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some gamers and team officials were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the best instructions.

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

It would also open a big organization chance for licensed bookies and global online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have a very reliable method of marking out match repairing," 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 bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to position huge bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to sell.

"Despite the fact that numerous people are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and difficult 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 been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has actually ignited around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.