Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is viewing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 contact the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match however to keep modifying 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 believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie 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 made $200 today," he states with a childish glee.

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes flourish in the country.

'Black money'

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.

Without any legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager 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 money", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting web sports betting, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people 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 in spite of this, it is "offline gambling", done through call which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up 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 banned for 2 years after some players and team authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

The panel likewise 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 wagering is a relocation in the right instructions.

"I do not mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," 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 help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have a very effective approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting since (some) people would not wish to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted cash to put big bets will never gamble lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Even however many individuals are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable issue for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The process 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 backed by an official panel for the very first time, at least a debate has sparked around a topic - which until now was considered a taboo.