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 reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his ideal 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, however now as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

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

And a few minutes later his prediction comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates prosper in the country.

'Black cash'

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

Without any legal avenue, punters position 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 greatest 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 sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gaming, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

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

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

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes in the performance of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some players and group authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax revenues for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

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

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

It would also open a huge business opportunity for licensed bookmakers and international online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would help restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

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

But many also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting since (some) people wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted cash to position big bets will never gamble legally.

Approval question

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

"Even however many people are involved in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for many," states our unnamed punter.

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

"The procedure is so long and challenging 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 an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has actually sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.