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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 versus Australia.
In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his best hand.
He has made more than 10 contact the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match but to keep modifying his bet.
Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to deal with the last over he's altered his mind.
"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookie on the phone.
And a few minutes later his forecast comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.
"I have 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 prohibited in India.
Aside from horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering distributes prosper in the nation.
'Black cash'
According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling money is directed towards cricket.
With no legal opportunity, punters put their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.
Most of these transactions include so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.
The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gaming in India, but unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting internet gaming, there is absolutely nothing similar here.
And offshore sports betting companies are utilizing this loophole to draw Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have registered accounts with overseas companies.
"Legally you can escape [with this], as the law is ambiguous for online gaming," states Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.
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But despite this, it is "offline gambling", done through telephone call which dominate the market.
Require legalisation
The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help clamp down on corruption in the country's favourite sport.
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes in the performance of India's cricket regulatory 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 discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.
The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax earnings for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.
Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the best direction.
"I don't mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can gamble publicly," says our cricket gambler.
It would also open a huge service chance for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online wagering companies to set up operations in India.
And it would assist limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.
"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have a really reliable technique of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.
But many likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.
However, there are limitations.
"Definitely there will be prohibited wagering because (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.
He includes that people who utilize unaccounted money to position huge bets will never gamble lawfully.
Approval concern
For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to offer.
"Despite the fact that lots of people are included in some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable issue for numerous," states our unnamed punter.
And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.
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"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."
Yet with the idea having actually been backed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has ignited around a subject - which previously was thought about a taboo.
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