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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 reporter
It is the last over of the cricket match, with India requiring 17 runs to win versus Australia.
In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his right-hand man.
He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match however to keep modifying his bet.
Five minutes previously his money 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 bookie on the phone.
And a few minutes later his prediction comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.
"I have made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.
For more than three decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.
Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting syndicates flourish in the country.
'Black cash'
According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting wagering market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.
With no legal avenue, punters put bets utilizing 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.
The majority of these deals include so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of sports betting in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gambling, there is nothing similar here.
And offshore sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore firms.
"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.
But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through call which dominate the marketplace.
Calls for legalisation
The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel appointed 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 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 prohibited for 2 years after some players and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.
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The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.
Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the ideal instructions.
"I don't mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet publicly," states our cricket gambler.
It would likewise open a substantial service opportunity for certified bookmakers and worldwide online wagering companies to establish operations in India.
And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make deals involved in gambling more transparent.
"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have a very effective approach of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.
But numerous also think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it enough for them to gamble lawfully.
However, there are limitations.
"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting because (some) people would not wish to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.
He adds that people who use unaccounted cash to position big bets will never gamble legally.
Approval concern
For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to sell.
"Despite the fact that lots of people are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for many," states our unnamed punter.
And given 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 difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime quickly."
Yet with the idea having been backed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of a debate has fired up around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.
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