Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

5 February 2016

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

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

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

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman gets ready to deal with 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 on his prediction comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, illegal sports betting distributes grow in the nation.

'Black cash'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting money is directed towards cricket.
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With no 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.

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

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

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore firms.

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which control the market.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the country's favourite 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 sports betting scandal emerged.
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Two franchises have actually been for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

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

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

"I don't mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a big business chance for licensed bookies and worldwide online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make deals associated with gambling more transparent.
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"If you work alongside wagering business, you will have a really reliable technique of stamping out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But lots of also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.
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However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal 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 cash to position big bets will never gamble lawfully.

Approval question

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

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

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their territory.

"The process is so long and tricky 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 idea having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, at least a dispute has sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.