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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
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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 runs to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom house situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

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

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

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

And a few minutes later his prediction becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

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

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

'Black cash'

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 cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal opportunity, punters put 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 specific run scorer.

Most of these deals include so-called "black cash", which is cash not declared 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 restricting web gambling, there is nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to entice Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have registered accounts with offshore firms.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online sports betting," says Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.

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

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 assist clamp down on corruption in the nation's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend modifications 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 2 years after some players and group officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

The panel also argues that legalised wagering will bring in tax incomes for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that sports betting is a relocation in the ideal direction.

"I do not mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can bet openly," says our cricket bettor.

It would also open a huge organization opportunity for licensed bookmakers and international online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering business, you will have a very efficient technique of stamping out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But lots of also think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering due to the fact that (some) individuals wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that individuals who use unaccounted money to position big bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval concern

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

"Although lots of people are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a controversial issue for numerous," states 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 process is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has actually fired up around a subject - which till now was considered a taboo.
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