For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised
Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
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bet9ja.com
5 February 2016
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By Sameer Hashmi
bet9ja.com
Mumbai Business reporter
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It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 runs to win against Australia.
In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is watching the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his ideal hand.
He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep modifying his bet.
Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.
"I think India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookie on the phone.
And a couple of minutes later his forecast comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.
"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.
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For more than 3 years he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.
Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates flourish in the nation.
'Black cash'
According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's prohibited sports betting market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.
With no legal opportunity, punters place 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 highest specific run scorer.
Most of these deals include so-called "black money", which is cash not declared 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 gambling, there is nothing similar here.
And offshore sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have signed up accounts with offshore companies.
"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.
But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which dominate the marketplace.
Require 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 assist 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 regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.
Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and group authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.
The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.
Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the ideal instructions.
"I don't mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," states our cricket bettor.
It would also open a huge company chance for certified bookies and worldwide online sports betting business to establish operations in India.
And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make deals associated with gambling more transparent.
"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a really effective approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.
But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.
However, there are restrictions.
"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.
He adds that people who use unaccounted money to put huge bets will never gamble lawfully.
Approval concern
For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to offer.
"Even however many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for many," states our unnamed punter.
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And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."
Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the first time, at least an argument has actually sparked around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.