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 reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's changed his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

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

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

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

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

'Black cash'

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 cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

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

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

And overseas 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 actually signed up accounts with overseas companies.

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

But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would assist clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications in the performance 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 actually been banned for two years after some players and group authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

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

"I don't mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a substantial business chance for licensed bookmakers and international online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make deals included in gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering companies, you will have an extremely efficient method of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But numerous also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering due to the fact that (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who use unaccounted money to put huge bets will never bet legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Even though many individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for many," states our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their territory.

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

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