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 requiring 17 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his right hand.

He has made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets prepared to face the last over he's changed his mind.

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

And a few minutes later his forecast comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childlike 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 prohibited in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful wagering distributes thrive 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 cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gambling, there is nothing similar here.

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

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which control the market.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest changes in the performance of India's cricket regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal came to light.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some gamers and team officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest 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 wagering is a move in the best direction.

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

It would likewise open a big business opportunity for licensed bookmakers and international online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are constraints.

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

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted cash to put big bets will never gamble 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 tough idea to offer.

"Despite the fact that lots of people are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will have 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," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of an argument has actually ignited around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.