Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter
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It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 go to win versus Australia.

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

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

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

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

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes flourish in the nation.

'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 sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

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

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black cash", 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 restricting internet gambling, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And offshore sports betting business are using this loophole to draw Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through call which dominate the market.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest changes in the functioning of regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal came to light.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and group officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will generate tax profits for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the ideal direction.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a substantial company chance for licensed bookies and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have an extremely efficient technique of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.
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But many likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.
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"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting because (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question
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For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to offer.
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"Although lots of people are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial problem for many," says 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.

"The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this becoming a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually ignited around a subject - which previously was thought about a taboo.