1 For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

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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 runs to win versus Australia.
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In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, 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 tells 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 made $200 today," he states with a childish glee.

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

Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes prosper in the nation.

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

Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.

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

And overseas wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with overseas companies.

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

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up 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 came to light.

Two franchises have actually been banned for 2 years after some players and team officials were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the right instructions.
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"I don't mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a big business chance for licensed bookmakers 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 lots of, by helping make deals included in gambling more transparent.

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

But many likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering since (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.
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He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to place huge bets will never bet lawfully.
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Approval concern

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

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

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

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

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has ignited around a topic - which till now was thought about a taboo.