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 press 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 man 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 employ the last thirty minutes - not to discuss the match but 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 think India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookie on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later his forecast comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

"I have actually made $200 today," he states with a childish glee.
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For more than 3 decades he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal sports betting distributes prosper in the country.

'Black cash'

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

Without any legal avenue, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

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

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

And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to draw Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with overseas firms.

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which control the market.
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Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would help clamp 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 regulative 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 prohibited for two years after some players and group officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will generate tax revenues 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 do not mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a huge service chance for certified bookmakers and international online sports betting business to set up in India.

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

"If you work alongside sports betting companies, you will have an extremely efficient technique of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But many likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering because (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted cash to put big bets will never ever gamble 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 difficult concept to sell.
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"Even though lots of people are involved in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial concern for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate 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 a main panel for the very first time, at least a debate has sparked around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.