1 For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

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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 .

In his two-bedroom house situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is viewing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his smart phone glued to his ideal hand.

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

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

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

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

"I have made $200 today," he states with a childlike 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 prohibited in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates thrive in the country.

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gambling, 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 individuals have signed up accounts with overseas firms.

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

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

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest changes 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 banned for 2 years after some players and group authorities were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will generate tax profits for the exchequer that could 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 profits, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a huge service chance for certified bookies and global online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering business, you will have an extremely effective technique of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But lots of also think, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookie will need to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are restrictions.

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

He adds that people who use unaccounted money to position huge bets will never gamble legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to create a new law, and politically this will be a difficult concept to sell.

"Although many individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for many," states our unnamed punter.

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

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has ignited around a topic - which up until now was thought about a taboo.