1 For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting 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 house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is viewing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match however to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes previously his money was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's altered his mind.

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

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

"I have made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.

For more than three decades he's been wagering 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 allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes prosper in the country.

'Black money'

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

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

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

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of gaming in India, but unlike in the US which has a law restricting web gaming, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

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

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which the market.

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, saying it would help clamp down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 came to light.

Two franchises have been banned for 2 years after some players and group officials were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax earnings 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 publicly," says our cricket gambler.

It would also open a big business 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 numerous, by helping make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering business, you will have an extremely efficient approach of stamping out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But many likewise think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering because (some) people would not want to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to place big bets will never bet lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Although many individuals are involved in some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"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 soon."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has ignited around a subject - which previously was thought about a taboo.