For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

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 resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

He has actually made more than 10 employ the last thirty minutes – not to discuss the match but to keep modifying his bet.

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

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

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

“I have made $200 today,” he says with a childish glee.

For more than 3 years he’s been banking on cricket matches. We can’t expose his name as what he’s doing is in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal sports betting syndicates flourish in the country.

‘Black cash’

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

Without any legal avenue, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

Most of these transactions include so-called “black cash”, which is cash not declared to the taxman.

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

And offshore sports betting companies are using this loophole to entice Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore firms.

“Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting,” states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is “offline gaming”, done through phone calls which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India’s Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help secure down on corruption in the country’s preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest changes in the functioning of India’s cricket regulatory 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 been banned for two years after some players and team authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the best instructions.

“I do not mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly,” states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a big organization opportunity for certified bookies and international online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

“If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a very effective method of marking out match repairing,” says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But many also believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are limitations.

“Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) individuals wouldn’t want to leave an audit path by going into the white market,” states Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who use unaccounted money to position huge bets will never gamble legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to sell.

“Even however lots of people are associated with some sort of gaming – it’s still a controversial concern for many,” states 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 gambling in their territory.

“The process is so long and tricky that it will take years,” states Mr Ranina.”That’s why, we are negative about this ending up being a reality anytime quickly.”

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has actually ignited around a subject – which previously was thought about a taboo.