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 reporter
It is the last over of the cricket match, with India requiring 17 go to win against Australia.
In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his right-hand man.
He has made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match but to keep revising his bet.
Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.
"I think India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookmaker 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 made $200 today," he states with a childlike 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 illegal in India.
Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes grow in the nation.
bet9ja.com
'Black cash'
According to the Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting wagering market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling money is directed towards cricket.
With no legal avenue, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.
bet9ja.com
The majority of these deals involve so-called "black money", which is cash not declared to the taxman.
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web gambling, there is absolutely nothing similar here.
And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to draw Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.
"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gambling," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.
But despite this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which dominate the market.
Require legalisation
The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, stating it would help secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest modifications in the performance of India's cricket regulative 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 prohibited for two years after some gamers and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.
The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.
Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the ideal instructions.
"I do not mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.
It would likewise open a big service chance for licensed bookmakers and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.
And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make transactions included in gambling more transparent.
bit.ly
"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have an extremely efficient technique of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.
But numerous also think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.
bet9ja.com
However, there are restrictions.
"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering due to the fact that (some) individuals wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.
He adds that people who utilize unaccounted money to position big bets will never ever gamble legally.
Approval question
For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.
"Despite the fact that lots of people are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable concern for numerous," states our unnamed punter.
And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their area.
"The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."
Yet with the idea having been backed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has sparked around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.
1
For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised
alphonsemccrea edited this page 2024-12-31 14:57:06 +00:00