Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

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 go to win against Australia.

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

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

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

"I believe India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

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

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

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal wagering syndicates thrive in the country.

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

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

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

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Although there are no online wagering 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 uncertain for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

But despite this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which control the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes in the performance of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal emerged.

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

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax revenues for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering 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 big company opportunity for certified bookies and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have a really reliable approach of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering because (some) people would not want to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to put big bets will never ever 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 difficult concept to sell.

"Although many individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial issue for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a reality anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually fired up around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.