Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 against Australia.

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

He has made more than 10 hire the last thirty minutes - not to discuss the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, today 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 few minutes later his prediction comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

"I have actually made $200 today," he states with a childlike glee.

For more than 3 decades he's been banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal wagering syndicates grow in the country.

'Black cash'

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

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

Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is cash 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 prohibiting internet gaming, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting business are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

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

But despite 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 designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend 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 sports betting scandal came to light.

Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some players and group authorities were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the right instructions.

"I do not mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a substantial business chance for licensed bookmakers and global online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make deals included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering companies, you will have a really efficient method of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But numerous also think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will need to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not wish to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

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

"Despite the fact that numerous people are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

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

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

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has ignited around a subject - which till now was thought about a taboo.