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 needing 17 go to win against Australia.
In his two-bedroom home located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is watching the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his right hand.
He has actually made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep revising his bet.
Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman gets ready to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.
"I think India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.
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And a couple of minutes later his prediction comes true, 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 years he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.
Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting distributes flourish in the nation.
'Black money'
According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling money is directed towards cricket.
With no legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.
The majority of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web sports betting, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.
And offshore wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have signed up accounts with offshore companies.
"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.
But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which dominate the marketplace.
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Calls for legalisation
The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel selected 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 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 gamers and group officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.
The panel also argues that 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 best instructions.
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"I don't mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket gambler.
It would likewise open a big business chance for licensed bookmakers and international online wagering business to set up operations in India.
And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make transactions involved in sports betting more transparent.
"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have an extremely effective method of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.
But many also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.
However, there are restrictions.
"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.
He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to put big bets will never gamble lawfully.
Approval concern
For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to sell.
"Although many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial issue for many," says our unnamed punter.
And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this becoming a reality anytime quickly."
Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the first time, a minimum of a dispute has fired up around a subject - which till now was thought about a taboo.
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For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised
claricedugdale edited this page 2024-12-31 18:27:37 +08:00