For Sports Gambling To Be Legalised

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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 requiring 17 runs to win against Australia.


In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is watching the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his ideal hand.


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


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


"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie on the phone.
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And a couple of minutes later on his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.


"I have actually made $200 today," he states 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 illegal in India.


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


'Black money'
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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 gambling cash 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 highest specific run scorer.


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


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


And offshore sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with offshore firms.


"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is uncertain for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.


But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which dominate the marketplace.


Calls for legalisation


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


The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend changes in the functioning of India's cricket regulatory 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 prohibited for two years after some players and team officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.


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


Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the best .


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


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


And it would assist restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make transactions involved in gambling more transparent.


"If you work alongside wagering business, you will have a really efficient method of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.


But many also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.


However, there are restrictions.


"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals would not desire to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.


He adds that individuals who use unaccounted cash to position big bets will never ever bet lawfully.


Approval question


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


"Although many individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable issue for lots of," says our unnamed punter.


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


Yet with the concept having been endorsed by an official panel for the first time, a minimum of a debate has fired up around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.
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