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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 reporter

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

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

He has actually made more than 10 contact the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets ready to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a few minutes later on his prediction 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 three decades he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't expose 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 sports betting syndicates prosper in the nation.

'Black money'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting internet gambling, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

But in spite of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which control the marketplace.

Require 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 assist clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest modifications 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 actually been banned for two years after some players and team authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that might amount 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 cash out my profits, as long as I can bet openly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big organization opportunity for licensed bookies and worldwide online wagering business to establish operations in India.

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

"If you work alongside wagering companies, you will have a very reliable approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But numerous likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering due to the fact that (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted cash to position huge bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval question

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

"Even though lots of people are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial issue for lots of," says 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.

"The procedure 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 a main panel for the first time, a minimum of a debate has ignited around a subject - which till now was considered a taboo.
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