About Us

For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 go to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the video game, nervously. He’s sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes – not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to deal with 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 forecast comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

“I have made $200 today,” he states with a childlike glee.

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful wagering distributes grow in the country.

‘Black money’

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 money is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called “black money”, which is cash not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gaming in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting internet gambling, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting business are using this loophole to lure Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually registered accounts with offshore firms.

“Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling,” says Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is “offline gaming”, done through phone calls which dominate the marketplace.

Require 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 country’s favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 been banned for two years after some gamers and group authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the ideal instructions.

“I do not mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can bet publicly,” states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a substantial company chance for certified bookies and international online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

“If you work along with wagering companies, you will have an extremely efficient technique of stamping out match fixing,” says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But many also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will need to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

“Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting because (some) individuals wouldn’t wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market,” says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval concern

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

“Despite the fact that lots of people are involved in some sort of sports betting – it’s still a controversial issue for lots of,” states 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 area.

“The process is so long and difficult that it will take years,” says Mr Ranina.”That’s why, we are negative about this becoming a truth anytime soon.”

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually ignited around a subject – which previously was considered a taboo.