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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 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged man is seeing 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 employ the last 30 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 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 his prediction comes true, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

"I have actually made $200 today," he states 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 illegal in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed in India. Despite that, illegal sports betting 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 money is directed towards cricket.
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Without any legal opportunity, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bank 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 stated to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of sports betting in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web gaming, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have signed up accounts with overseas firms.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is uncertain for online gambling," says Mumbai- based lawyer HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would assist secure down on corruption in the country's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established 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 wagering scandal emerged.

Two franchises have been prohibited for two years after some players and group authorities were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the right direction.
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"I don't mind paying some cash out my revenues, as long as I can gamble openly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a huge service chance for licensed bookies and international online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would assist limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work together with sports betting companies, you will have a really reliable approach of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) people wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to place big bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a brand-new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to sell.

"Even however many individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial problem for numerous," states our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a - each state will have to likewise pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a truth anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the first time, at least an argument has sparked around a subject - which until now was thought about a taboo.
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