Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is watching the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

He has actually made more than 10 hire the last thirty 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 yourself to face the last over he's changed his mind.

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

And a few minutes later his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal wagering distributes grow in the nation.

'Black cash'

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

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

Most of these transactions involve so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting internet gaming, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

And offshore wagering business are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

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

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel appointed 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 recommend changes in the performance 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 prohibited for 2 years after some players and group authorities were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the right direction.

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

It would also open a substantial organization chance for certified bookmakers and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

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

"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a really reliable technique of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

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

However, there are constraints.

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

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to put big bets will never bet lawfully.

Approval concern

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

"Despite the fact that many individuals are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

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

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least a debate has sparked around a topic - which until now was thought about a taboo.