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 runs to win versus Australia.

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

He has made more than 10 employ the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match but to keep revising his bet.

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

"I think India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookie on the phone.

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

"I have made $200 today," he says 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.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes prosper in the nation.

'Black money'

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

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

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting internet sports betting, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And overseas wagering companies are utilizing 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 uncertain for online gambling," says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

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

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up 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 sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some players and group authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.

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

"I do not mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a huge service opportunity for licensed bookies and international online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.

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

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have an extremely effective technique of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

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

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) people would not wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to put big bets will never bet legally.

Approval concern

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

"Although many individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their area.

"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least an argument has actually fired up around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.