1 For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India

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.
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In his two-bedroom home located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man 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.

He has made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep revising his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he's altered his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie on the phone.

And a few 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 childish glee.

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes grow in the country.

'Black cash'

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

With no legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific 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 type of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting internet gambling, there is absolutely nothing comparable here.

And offshore wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gaming," states Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

But regardless of this, it is "offline gambling", done through call which control the marketplace.

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest changes in the functioning 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 been prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will generate tax profits for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the right direction.

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

It would also open a substantial service opportunity for certified bookmakers and worldwide online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make deals associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have an extremely effective method of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But numerous also believe, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookie will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

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

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted cash to place huge bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval concern

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

"Although lots of people are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

And considered 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 challenging that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a reality anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of an argument has sparked around a subject - which up until now was considered a taboo.