Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share
bit.ly
close panel
bet9ja.com
Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is watching the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his best hand.

He has made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep modifying his bet.

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

"I think India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookie on the phone.

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

"I have made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.

For more than three decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes thrive in the .

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

Most of these transactions involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting internet sports betting, there is nothing similar here.

And offshore sports betting companies are using this loophole to draw Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with overseas firms.
bet9ja.com
"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is uncertain for online gaming," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is "offline gambling", done through telephone call which control the market.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications 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 emerged.
bit.ly
Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some gamers and team officials were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the best instructions.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket bettor.

It would likewise open a substantial service opportunity for licensed bookmakers and global online wagering business to establish operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make transactions involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have an extremely efficient method of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But numerous also think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering because (some) people would not wish to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted money to put huge bets will never gamble lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a new law, and politically this will be a tough idea to sell.

"Despite the fact that lots of people are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for many," says our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.

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

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has fired up around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.