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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 against Australia.

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

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match but to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

And a few minutes later on his forecast comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.
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"I have made $200 today," he says 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.
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Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes thrive in the nation.

'Black money'

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

Without any legal avenue, punters put 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 private run scorer.

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

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

And offshore sports betting business are utilizing this to entice Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually registered accounts with overseas companies.
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"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which control the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually 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 preferred 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 wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some gamers and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

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

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

It would likewise open a substantial company chance for certified bookies and global online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions involved in sports betting more transparent.

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

But numerous also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering due to the fact that (some) people would not desire to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who use unaccounted cash to put huge bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval question

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

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

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

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

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has sparked around a topic - which till now was thought about a taboo.