Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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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 home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is viewing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

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

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

"I think India is winning, make the modification," he tells 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 made $200 today," he says with a childlike glee.

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

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

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters put bets using 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.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law forbiding internet gambling, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting business are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with overseas firms.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

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

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

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

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have a really efficient technique of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock betting website, India Bet.

But many likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are limitations.

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

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to place huge bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Even however many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has actually ignited around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.