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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 needing 17 go to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, however now as the Indian batsman gets all set to face the last over he's altered his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later on his forecast comes to life, as India wins the match in a .

"I have made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.
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For more than three decades he's been wagering 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, prohibited wagering distributes flourish in the nation.

'Black money'

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 money is directed towards cricket.

With no 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 individual run scorer.

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

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

And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to entice Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

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

But despite this, it is "offline gambling", done through call which control the market.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest 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 prohibited for two years after some gamers and group authorities were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

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

"I don't mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big organization opportunity for licensed bookmakers and international online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make deals involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have a very efficient approach of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will have to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.
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However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting due to the fact that (some) people would not want to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted cash to place big bets will never bet legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to sell.

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

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

"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 a main panel for the first time, at least a debate has fired up around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.