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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 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 seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his mobile phone glued to his right hand.
He has made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match but to keep revising his bet.
Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, now as the Indian batsman prepares yourself to face the last over he's changed his mind.
"I think India is winning, make the change," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.
And a couple of minutes later his prediction comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.
"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 of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting distributes grow in the country.
'Black money'
According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's illegal sports betting wagering market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that sports betting cash is directed towards cricket.
With no legal opportunity, punters place bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest specific run scorer.
The majority of these transactions involve so-called "black money", which is cash 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 web gambling, there is nothing similar here.
And offshore wagering companies are using this loophole to draw Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have signed up accounts with overseas companies.
"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is uncertain for online sports betting," states Mumbai- based attorney HP Ranina.
But regardless of this, it is "offline gambling", done through phone calls which control the market.
Require legalisation
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 favourite sport.
The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to recommend 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 came to light.
Two franchises have actually been banned for 2 years after some players and group authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.
The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax profits for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.
Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a move in the best direction.
"I do not mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," says our cricket bettor.
It would also open a huge company opportunity for certified bookmakers and worldwide online wagering business to establish operations in India.
And it would help restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make transactions associated with gambling more transparent.
"If you work together with wagering 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 numerous also believe, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will have to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble legally.
However, there are limitations.
"Definitely there will be unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals would not wish to leave an audit path by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.
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He adds that individuals who utilize unaccounted money to place big bets will never ever gamble lawfully.
Approval question
For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to produce a new law, and politically this will be a tough idea to sell.
"Although many people are associated with some sort of sports betting - it's still a questionable problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.
And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a different 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," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this ending up being a reality anytime quickly."
Yet with the concept having been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has sparked around a subject - which up until now was thought about a taboo.
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