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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 against Australia.

In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is enjoying 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 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match but to keep revising his bet.

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

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

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

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

For more than 3 years he's been wagering 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, unlawful sports betting distributes flourish in the nation.

'Black money'

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 sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. 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 involve so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.

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

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually signed up accounts with offshore firms.

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

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

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

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

Two franchises have been prohibited for 2 years after some players and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookies.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the ideal instructions.

"I don't mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a huge company chance for certified bookmakers and international online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.

And it would match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by helping make deals included in sports betting more transparent.

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

But many likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will need to be reasonable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering because (some) people wouldn't want to leave an audit path by entering the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to place big bets will never bet legally.

Approval question

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

"Although lots of individuals are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has ignited around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.
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