1 For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised

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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 needing 17 go to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is watching the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

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

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookmaker on the phone.

And a few minutes later on his forecast comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

"I have made $200 today," he states with a childlike glee.

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

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful wagering syndicates grow in the nation.

'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 money is directed towards cricket.

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

Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of sports betting in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting internet gaming, there is nothing comparable here.

And offshore wagering business are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with overseas firms.

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

But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through telephone call which control the market.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for two years after some gamers and team authorities were condemned of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

The panel likewise 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 is a relocation in the ideal direction.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket bettor.

It would likewise open a big organization opportunity for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make deals associated with sports betting more .

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

But lots of also think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will need to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

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

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to place big bets will never bet lawfully.

Approval question

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

"Even however many individuals are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable problem for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

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

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, at least an argument has ignited around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.