bet9ja.com
Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
bet9ja.com
Published
bit.ly
5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business reporter

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

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

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

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to face the last over he's changed his mind.

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

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

"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childish 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 illegal in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, illegal sports betting 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 is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling money is directed towards cricket.

With no legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is cash 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 forbiding internet gambling, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which dominate the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established 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 been prohibited for 2 years after some players and team officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

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

"I don't mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can gamble openly," states our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a substantial organization opportunity for licensed bookmakers and global online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have an extremely reliable technique of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But many likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.
bet9ja.com
However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting because (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who use unaccounted money to place big bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval concern

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

"Although many individuals are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for lots of," states 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 in their territory.
bit.ly
"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime quickly."

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