Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India

Published

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 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged male is enjoying the video game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 calls in the last 30 minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, today as the Indian batsman gets ready to face the last over he's changed his mind.

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

And a couple of minutes later on his forecast becomes a reality, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

"I have made $200 today," he says with a childish glee.

For more than 3 decades he's been wagering on cricket matches. We can't reveal his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, illegal wagering syndicates thrive in the nation.

'Black money'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's illegal sports betting market deserves some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling money is directed towards cricket.

With no legal opportunity, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest individual run scorer.

The majority of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is money not stated to the taxman.

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

And overseas wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Although there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually signed up accounts with overseas firms.

"Legally you can get away [with this], as the law is unclear for online gambling," states Mumbai- based legal representative HP Ranina.

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

Calls for legalisation

The clamour to legalise wagering in cricket has actually grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would help clamp down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend changes in the performance 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 been banned for 2 years after some players and team officials were condemned of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

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

Even bettors feel that legalising 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 publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would also open a huge service opportunity for certified bookmakers and global online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue many, by helping make transactions included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering companies, you will have an extremely reliable method of marking out match repairing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting website, India Bet.

But many likewise believe, that the taxes imposed on the gambler and the bookmaker will have to be sensible to make it appealing enough for them to gamble legally.

However, there are restrictions.

"Definitely there will be illegal wagering since (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He adds that people who utilize unaccounted cash to place big bets will never ever gamble lawfully.

Approval concern

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

"Although lots of people are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial issue for many," states our unnamed punter.

And given that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.

"The procedure is so long and tricky that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime quickly."

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