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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting wagering 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 requiring 17 go to win versus Australia.

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

He has actually made more than 10 contact the last 30 minutes - not to go over the match however to keep modifying 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 changed his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the modification," he informs 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 banking on cricket matches. We can't expose his name as what he's doing is unlawful in India.
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Other than horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, unlawful sports betting syndicates prosper in the nation.

'Black money'

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

With no legal avenue, punters place bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can bank on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest run scorer.

The majority of these transactions involve so-called "black money", which is money not declared to the taxman.

The 1867 Public Gambling Act bars any type of gambling in India, however unlike in the US which has a law prohibiting web sports betting, there is nothing comparable here.

And offshore sports betting companies are utilizing 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 firms.

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has grown after a panel appointed by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would assist clamp down on corruption in the nation'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 been prohibited for two years after some players and team authorities were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting wagering is a move in the right instructions.

"I do not mind paying some money out my earnings, as long as I can bet publicly," states our cricket gambler.

It would likewise open a huge company chance for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online sports betting business to establish operations in India.

And it would help restrict match fixing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make deals included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have an extremely reliable approach of marking out match fixing," states George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

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

However, there are constraints.

"Definitely there will be illegal sports betting because (some) individuals wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by entering the white market," states Mr Oborne.

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

Approval question
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For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be required to develop a new law, and politically this will be a hard idea to offer.

"Even however lots of people are included in some sort of gaming - it's still a questionable issue for lots of," states our unnamed punter.

And considered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting in their territory.
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"The process is so long and tricky that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this coming true anytime quickly."

Yet with the idea having been endorsed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has fired up around a topic - which till now was thought about a taboo.
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