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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 requiring 17 go to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is seeing the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his ideal hand.

He has made more than 10 hire the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match but to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes previously his cash was on Australia, but now as the Indian batsman gets all set 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 forecast becomes a reality, as 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 reveal his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful wagering 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.

Without any legal avenue, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest private run scorer.
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Most of these transactions involve so-called "black money", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

And overseas sports betting business are using this loophole to draw Indians. Although there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with offshore companies.

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the idea, stating it would help clamp 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 regulatory body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League wagering scandal emerged.

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

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

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a relocation in the ideal instructions.

"I don't mind paying some money out my revenues, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket bettor.

It would likewise open a substantial business opportunity for licensed bookies and worldwide online wagering companies to establish operations in India.
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And it would assist restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by assisting make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside wagering business, you will have a very reliable technique of marking out match fixing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But numerous likewise believe, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are restrictions.

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

He adds that individuals who use unaccounted cash to put huge bets will never ever bet legally.

Approval question

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.

"Despite the fact that lots of people are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

And offered 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 soon."

Yet with the concept having actually been endorsed by an official panel for the first time, at least an argument has fired up around a subject - which till now was considered a taboo.
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