Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is enjoying the video 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 but to keep revising his bet.

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

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie 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 three decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates flourish in the nation.

'Black cash'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting wagering market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

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

Most 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 gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gaming, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore firms.

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

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which dominate the market.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would help secure down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up 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 emerged.

Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some players and team authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the right direction.

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

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

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

"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not want to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted money to position huge bets will never bet lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to offer.

"Despite the fact that lots of people are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least an argument has fired up around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.