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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
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Published

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 needing 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 resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

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

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, and 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 couple of minutes later on his prediction 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 3 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 allowed in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes flourish in the country.

'Black money'

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 wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.

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

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

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

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

But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which dominate the marketplace.

Calls for legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest modifications 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 emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some players and were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the right instructions.

"I don't mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a substantial company chance for certified bookies and worldwide online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make deals included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting business, you will have a really reliable technique of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But lots of also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

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

He adds that people who use unaccounted money to place huge bets will never gamble legally.

Approval concern

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

"Even however lots of people are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial problem for many," says our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their area.
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"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has actually sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.
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