For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India


Published


5 February 2016


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By Sameer Hashmi


Mumbai Business press reporter


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


In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his best hand.


He has actually made more than 10 contact the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match but to keep modifying his bet.


Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets all set to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

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


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

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


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


Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering 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 sports betting money is directed towards cricket.


With no legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.


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


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


And overseas wagering business are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with offshore companies.


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


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


Calls for legalisation

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The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.


The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest 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 prohibited for two years after some gamers and group officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookies.


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


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


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


It would likewise open a substantial company opportunity for certified bookies and worldwide online wagering business to establish operations in India.


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


"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have a really reliable approach of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.


But numerous also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.


However, there are limitations.


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


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


Approval question


For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to offer.


"Even however lots of people are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial issue for many," states our unnamed punter.


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

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"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a reality anytime quickly."


Yet with the concept having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually ignited around a subject - which till now was thought about a taboo.

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