bet9ja-promotion-code-yohaig

bit.ly
Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
bet9ja.com
Published

5 February 2016

Share

close panel

Share page

Copy link

About sharing

By Sameer Hashmi
bet9ja.com
Mumbai Business reporter

It is the last over of the cricket match, with India needing 17 go to win against Australia.

In his two-bedroom house located in main Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is watching the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his best hand.

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

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, however now as the Indian batsman gets prepared to deal with the last over he's changed his mind.

"I think India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookmaker on the phone.
bet9ja.com
And a few minutes later on his prediction comes to life, 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 reveal his name as what he's doing is illegal in India.

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

'Black money'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters put bets using their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the highest 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 gaming in India, however unlike in the US which has a law forbiding internet sports betting, there is absolutely nothing similar here.

And overseas sports betting companies are using this loophole to draw Indians. Despite the fact that there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot people have actually registered accounts with overseas companies.

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline gaming", done through phone calls which dominate 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 idea, saying it would help secure down on corruption in the country's favourite sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest changes in the functioning of India's cricket regulative body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), after the 2013 Indian Premier League sports betting scandal emerged.

Two franchises have actually been banned for two years after some players and group authorities were discovered guilty of fixing parts of the match at the request of bookmakers.

The panel likewise argues that legalised sports betting will generate tax earnings for the exchequer that might total up to $2bn a year.

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

"I don't mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can gamble publicly," states our cricket bettor.
bet9ja.com
It would also open a huge business opportunity for licensed bookies and global online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would assist restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue lots of, by assisting make transactions included in sports betting more transparent.

"If you work alongside sports betting business, you will have an extremely effective method of stamping out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock wagering website, India Bet.

But lots of also think, that the taxes levied on the bettor and the bookie will have to be sensible to make it attractive enough for them to bet lawfully.

However, there are limitations.
bet9ja.com
"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting because (some) people wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.

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

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to create a new law, and politically this will be a difficult idea to offer.

"Despite the fact that numerous individuals are involved in some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for numerous," says our unnamed punter.

And offered that India has a federal structural - each state will need to also pass a different law to legalise sports betting gambling in their area.
bet9ja.com
"The procedure is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are negative about this becoming a reality anytime soon."

Yet with the idea having been backed by an official panel for the very first time, a minimum of a dispute has fired up around a subject - which until now was considered a taboo.