Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 go to win against Australia.

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

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

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with 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 few minutes later on his forecast comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, unlawful wagering syndicates flourish in the nation.

'Black money'

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 sports betting money is directed towards cricket.

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

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

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

And offshore wagering business are using this loophole to entice Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," states Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

But in spite of this, it is "offline gambling", done through telephone call which control the market.

Calls for 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 help clamp down on corruption in the country's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up 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 sports betting scandal came to light.

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some players and team authorities were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

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

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

It would likewise open a substantial business opportunity for certified bookmakers and worldwide online wagering business to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering companies, you will have a really effective method of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But numerous also believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering since (some) people would not want 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 lawfully.

Approval question

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to produce a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to sell.

"Although numerous people are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their area.

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

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