Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page
bet9ja.com
Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal sports betting syndicates grow in the nation.

'Black money'

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

With no legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

The majority of these transactions involve "black money", which is cash not declared to the taxman.
bet9ja.com
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web gaming, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas 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 individuals have actually registered accounts with offshore firms.

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

But despite this, it is "offline gambling", done through call which dominate the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.
bit.ly
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 wagering scandal came to light.

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some gamers and team officials were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

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

"I do not mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big company chance for certified bookmakers and global online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make deals included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But numerous also think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.
bet9ja.com
However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering because (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who use unaccounted cash to put big bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to sell.

"Although many individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

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

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

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by a main panel for the very first time, at least an argument has actually ignited around a subject - which till now was considered a taboo.