For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised
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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 needing 17 runs to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

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

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, and 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 informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a few minutes later on his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

For more than 3 years 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 enabled in India. Despite that, illegal wagering syndicates prosper in the country.

'Black cash'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters position 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 greatest individual run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of sports betting in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gambling, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which control the market.

Require legalisation

The clamour to in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications 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 2 years after some players and group authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the right direction.

"I do not mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a big company chance for certified bookies and global online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.

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

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

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

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful wagering since (some) people would not want to leave an audit path by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to position 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 difficult idea to sell.

"Even though many individuals are involved in some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The process is so long and challenging 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 backed by an official panel for the first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually fired up around a subject - which up until now was considered a taboo.