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 go to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom house situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is viewing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his best hand.

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

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

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

And a couple of minutes later his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal wagering distributes grow in the nation.

'Black money'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting internet gambling, there is nothing similar here.
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And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest modifications in the functioning of India's cricket regulative 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 two years after some players and group officials were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the ideal instructions.
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"I do not mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a huge service chance for licensed bookies and worldwide online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work along with wagering companies, you will have a very effective technique of stamping out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But many also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.
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"Definitely there will be illegal wagering due to the fact that (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval concern

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

"Although lots of people are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by a main panel for the first time, at least a debate has fired up around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.