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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

5 February 2016
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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his ideal hand.

He has made more than 10 hire the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match however to keep his bet.

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

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

And a few minutes later his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have made $200 today," he states with a childish glee.

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

Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting syndicates grow in the nation.
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'Black cash'

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

Without any legal avenue, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

The majority of these deals include so-called "black money", which is cash not declared 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 forbiding internet gaming, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

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

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which control 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 preferred 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 came to light.

Two franchises have actually been banned for 2 years after some players and group authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the right direction.

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

It would also open a substantial company opportunity for certified bookies and international online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have a really efficient technique of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, 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 gamble lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering due to the fact that (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to place big bets will never gamble lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Even though many individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their area.
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"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 actually been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has fired up around a subject - which till now was thought about a taboo.
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