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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
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bet9ja.com
5 February 2016
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By Sameer Hashmi
Mumbai Business reporter
It is the last over of the cricket match, with India requiring 17 runs to win versus Australia.
In his two-bedroom home situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing 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 hire the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match however to keep modifying his bet.
Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.
"I believe India is winning, make the change," 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 childlike glee.
For more than 3 decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is prohibited in India.
Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates thrive in the nation.
'Black money'
According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's illegal sports betting wagering market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.
With no legal avenue, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest private run scorer.
Most of these deals include so-called "black money", which is money not stated to the taxman.
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any sort of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web sports betting, there is nothing comparable here.
And offshore sports betting companies are using this loophole to tempt Indians. Despite the fact that 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 uncertain for online gaming," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.
But in spite of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which control 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 concept, saying it would assist secure down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend modifications in the performance of India's cricket regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal came to light.
Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some players and group authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.
The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.
Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the ideal instructions.
"I do not mind paying some money out my profits, as long as I can gamble openly," states our cricket bettor.
It would likewise open a big company chance for certified bookies and global online sports betting companies to establish operations in India.
And it would help restrict match repairing in and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make deals involved in gambling more transparent.
"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have an extremely effective technique of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.
But lots of also believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.
However, there are constraints.
"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) individuals wouldn't wish to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.
He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to put big bets will never bet legally.
Approval concern
For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to sell.
"Although many individuals are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.
And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
"The process is so long and challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."
Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least a debate has actually sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.
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For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised
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