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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
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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 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 couch with his smart phone glued to his right hand.

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

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

"I think India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a few minutes later on his prediction comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.
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"I have actually made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting distributes thrive in the nation.

'Black money'

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

Without any legal avenue, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.

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

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

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

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline gambling", done through telephone call which control the marketplace.
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Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel appointed by Court proposed the concept, saying it would help clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest changes 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 actually been prohibited for 2 years after some players and group officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

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

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

"I do not mind paying some cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a huge organization chance for certified bookies and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have a really effective approach 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 bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.
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"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting since (some) individuals wouldn't desire to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted money to place huge bets will never gamble legally.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to sell.

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

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

"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least an argument has actually sparked around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.