bet9ja-promotion-code-yohaig

Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page
bet9ja.com
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 home located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is viewing the 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 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match but to keep modifying his bet.
bet9ja.com
Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman gets all set to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.

"I believe India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookie 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 actually made $200 today," he states with a childlike glee.

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates prosper in the nation.

'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 sports betting money is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting internet sports betting, there is nothing similar here.

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

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

But despite this, it is "offline gaming", done through call which control the marketplace.

Calls for 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 clamp down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest 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 sports betting scandal emerged.

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

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the best instructions.

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

It would likewise open a big business chance for certified bookies and global online sports betting business to set up operations in India.
bet9ja.com
And it would help repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions involved in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have a really effective method of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.
bet9ja.com
But lots of likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will need to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting because (some) people would not desire to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a new law, and politically this will be a hard concept to sell.

"Despite the fact that lots of people are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable problem for many," states 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.

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, a minimum of a dispute has ignited around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.