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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
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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 house situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is watching the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his best hand.

He has made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match however to keep revising 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 modification," he tells his bookie on the phone.

And a few minutes later on his forecast comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes flourish in the nation.

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

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

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

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

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which dominate 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 idea, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the country's preferred 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 sports betting scandal came to light.

Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some gamers and group authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that could total up 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 cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," states our cricket bettor.

It would likewise open a big business chance for licensed bookies and international online wagering companies to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work along with sports betting business, you will have a very efficient method of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But lots of also believe, that the on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to place big bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

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

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The procedure is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this becoming a reality anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the first time, a minimum of an argument has sparked around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.