Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

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By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press 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 man is seeing 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 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to face the last over he's altered his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie on the phone.

And a few minutes later his prediction comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting distributes grow 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 sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal opportunity, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

Most of these deals include so-called "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gaming, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to draw Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have signed up accounts with overseas firms.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gambling," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend 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.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some players and group authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.

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

"I do not mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket bettor.

It would also open a substantial business chance for certified bookies and worldwide online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work alongside wagering companies, you will have an extremely reliable approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But many also think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) people wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who use unaccounted cash to place huge bets will never bet lawfully.

Approval concern

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

"Although many individuals are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable concern for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

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

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has sparked around a topic - which till now was considered a taboo.