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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 press reporter
It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 go to win against Australia.
In his two-bedroom home located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.
He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.
Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, and 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 bookmaker on the phone.
And a couple of minutes later on his forecast comes to life, 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 banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.
Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not . Despite that, unlawful wagering syndicates thrive in the nation.
'Black money'
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According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting wagering market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting money is directed towards cricket.
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Without any legal avenue, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.
Most of these transactions include so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared to the taxman.
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gaming in India, but unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gambling, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.
And overseas wagering business are using this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with overseas firms.
"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.
But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which control the market.
Require legalisation
The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel selected by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would help secure down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest changes 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 prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.
The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.
Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the ideal direction.
"I do not mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket bettor.
It would likewise open a huge service opportunity for certified bookies and global online wagering business to set up operations in India.
And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make transactions included in sports betting more transparent.
"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.
But numerous likewise think, that the taxes imposed 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 unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.
He adds that people who use unaccounted cash to position huge bets will never ever gamble legally.
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Approval concern
For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a brand-new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to sell.
"Despite the fact that numerous people are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for numerous," says our unnamed punter.
And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.
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"The procedure is so long and challenging that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."
Yet with the idea having been backed by an official panel for the first time, a minimum of an argument has sparked around a topic - which till now was considered a taboo.
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For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised
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