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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
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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 needing 17 runs to win against Australia.

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

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

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman gets all set to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

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

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

"I have actually made $200 today," he states 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 unlawful in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates flourish 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 cash is directed towards cricket.

With no legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

The majority of these deals include so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.

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

And overseas sports betting business are using this loophole to entice Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with overseas companies.

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline gaming", done through call which dominate the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest changes in the performance 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 two 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 bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that could amount 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 earnings, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a substantial service chance for certified bookmakers and global online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make deals involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have a really efficient method of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But numerous likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering due to the fact that (some) individuals wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who use unaccounted money to place huge bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Although many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a reality anytime soon."

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