bet9ja.com
Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
bit.ly
5 February 2016
bet9ja.com
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 home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is viewing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, however now as the Indian batsman gets prepared to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

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

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

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

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

'Black cash'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

And overseas wagering business are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

But despite this, it is "offline gambling", done through telephone call which dominate the marketplace.

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would help clamp 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 wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some gamers and team officials were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.
bet9ja.com
Even that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the right instructions.

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

It would likewise open a huge business opportunity for licensed bookies and worldwide online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have an extremely efficient approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But lots of likewise think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are constraints.

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

He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to place big bets will never gamble legally.

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to offer.

"Despite the fact that many individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their area.
bet9ja.com
"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of a debate has sparked around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.
bet9ja.com