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

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 runs to win versus Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in central Mumbai, a middle-aged male is seeing the video game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour sofa with his mobile phone glued to his right hand.

He has made more than 10 calls in the last thirty minutes - not to talk about the match however to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes earlier his cash was on Australia, and now as the Indian batsman gets prepared to face the last over he's changed his mind.
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"I think India is winning, make the modification," he informs his bookie on the phone.

And a few minutes later on his prediction comes to life, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

"I have actually made $200 today," he states with a childish 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.

Other than horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited wagering syndicates thrive in the nation.

'Black cash'

According to the Doha-based International Centre for sports betting Security, India's unlawful sports betting market is worth some $150bn a year. And much of that gambling cash is directed towards cricket.
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Without any legal avenue, punters position bets using their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can wager on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest individual run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called "black cash", which is money not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any kind of gambling in India, but unlike in the US which has a law forbiding web sports betting, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

And offshore wagering business are using this loophole to draw Indians. Even though there are no online sports betting operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with overseas firms.

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

But despite this, it is "offline sports betting", done through phone calls which dominate the market.

Require legalisation

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

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to recommend modifications 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 came to light.

Two franchises have actually been prohibited for 2 years after some gamers and team authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised wagering will generate tax incomes for the exchequer that could amount to $2bn a year.

Even bettors feel that legalising sports betting is a in the ideal direction.

"I don't mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," states our cricket bettor.

It would also open a big company opportunity for licensed bookies and international online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would help limit match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by helping make deals associated with gambling more transparent.

"If you work along with sports betting companies, you will have a very reliable method of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering site, India Bet.

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will need to be affordable to make it attractive enough for them to gamble lawfully.
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However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals wouldn't desire to leave an audit path by going into the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval concern

For sports betting gambling to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a new law, and politically this will be a tough idea to sell.

"Even however lots of people are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable issue for many," 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 process is so long and challenging that it will take years," states Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this coming true anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having actually been endorsed by a main panel for the very first time, at least a dispute has fired up around a topic - which previously was thought about a taboo.
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