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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

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bet9ja.com
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 runs to win against Australia.

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

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

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

And a couple of minutes later his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

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

Other than horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes flourish in the nation.

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters place 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 highest individual run scorer.

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

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

And offshore sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

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

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend 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 wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been banned for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax earnings for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

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

"I don't mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can bet openly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a big service opportunity for licensed bookies and worldwide online wagering business to set up operations in India.

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

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have a very efficient technique of stamping out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But numerous likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

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

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted cash to position huge bets will never ever bet lawfully.

Approval concern

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

"Even though many individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial concern for many," says our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise 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 negative about this ending up being a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually fired up around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.
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