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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

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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 versus Australia.

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

He has actually made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, however now as the Indian batsman gets prepared to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.
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"I think India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie on the phone.

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

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

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

Other than horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal wagering syndicates thrive in the nation.

'Black money'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

The majority of these transactions involve so-called "black cash", which is cash not stated to the taxman.

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

And offshore wagering companies are using this loophole to lure 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 escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gaming," says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend 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 banned for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the ideal direction.

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

It would also open a substantial service chance for licensed bookmakers and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

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

But lots of also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting due to the fact that (some) people wouldn't desire to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to place big bets will never ever bet lawfully.
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Approval concern

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to sell.

"Despite the fact that many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for many," states our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.

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

Yet with the idea having been backed by an official panel for the first time, a minimum of an argument has actually ignited around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.
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