Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published
bet9ja.com
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 needing 17 runs to win versus Australia.

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

He has made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, 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 says with a childish glee.

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting syndicates thrive in the country.

'Black money'

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

With no legal avenue, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

The majority of these transactions include so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web sports betting, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

And overseas wagering business are utilizing this loophole to draw Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can get away [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 phone calls which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering 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 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 wagering scandal came to light.

Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some gamers and group officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

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

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

"I do not mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big organization chance for certified bookmakers and worldwide online wagering business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work along with wagering business, you will have a really effective method of stamping out match repairing," says 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 have to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering due to the fact that (some) people would not desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval concern

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

"Even however many individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for many," states our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.
bet9ja.com
"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been backed by a main panel for the first time, at least a debate has actually sparked around a which previously was considered a taboo.
bit.ly