1 For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised
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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering in India
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Published

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 main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is enjoying the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his best hand.

He has actually made more than 10 employ the last thirty minutes - not to discuss the match however to keep revising his bet.

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

"I believe India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookie on the phone.
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And a few minutes later his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting surface.

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

For more than 3 years he's been sports betting on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not permitted in India. Despite that, illegal wagering in the nation.

'Black money'

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 cash is directed towards cricket.

Without any legal avenue, punters place 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 greatest specific run scorer.

Most of these transactions include so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law restricting internet gaming, there is nothing comparable here.

And overseas sports betting business are utilizing this loophole to tempt Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have signed up accounts with overseas firms.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline sports betting", done through call which control the marketplace.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was set up to suggest 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 emerged.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some players and team officials were discovered guilty of repairing parts of the match at the request of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax profits for the exchequer that might amount to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the best direction.

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

It would likewise open a substantial company chance for certified bookmakers and international online wagering companies to set up operations in India.

And it would help limit match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make transactions involved in gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with wagering business, you will have a really effective method of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But many likewise think, that the taxes imposed on the bettor and the bookmaker will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting due to the fact that (some) people wouldn't wish to leave an audit path by getting in the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted money to position big bets will never ever bet lawfully.
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Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a brand-new law, and politically this will be a tough idea to offer.

"Even however lots of people are included in some sort of gambling - it's still a controversial problem for lots of," says our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will have to likewise pass a different law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
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"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this ending up being a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least an argument has sparked around a subject - which previously was considered a taboo.