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 needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.
In his two-bedroom home located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is viewing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his ideal hand.
He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match however to keep revising his bet.
Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's altered his mind.
"I believe India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.
And a couple of minutes later on his prediction comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.
"I have made $200 today," he says with a childish 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 prohibited in India.
Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes flourish in the nation.
'Black cash'
According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting wagering market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling money is directed towards cricket.
With no legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.
The majority of these transactions include so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gaming in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting internet gambling, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.
And offshore wagering business are utilizing this loophole to draw Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with overseas companies.
"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gambling," says Mumbai- based legal representative 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 grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the country's favourite sport.
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications 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 emerged.
Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookies.
The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.
Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the best direction.
"I don't mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.
It would likewise open a substantial service opportunity for licensed bookies and global online wagering companies to establish operations in India.
And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.
"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a really efficient method of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.
But lots of also think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.
However, there are limitations.
"Definitely there will be illegal wagering because (some) people wouldn't want to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.
He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to position big bets will never gamble lawfully.
Approval concern
For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to sell.
"Although lots of people are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial concern for many," says our unnamed punter.
And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
"The procedure is so long and challenging that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."
Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually ignited around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.