1 For Sports Gambling to Be Legalised
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Howzat? The clamour to legalise sports betting in India
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5 February 2016

By Sameer Hashmi

Mumbai Business press reporter

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

In his two-bedroom home situated in central Mumbai, a middle-aged guy is seeing the game, nervously. He's sitting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his cellphone glued to his right-hand man.

He has actually made more than 10 hire the last thirty minutes - not to go over the match however to keep modifying his bet.

Five minutes earlier his money was on Australia, however now as the Indian batsman prepares to face the last over he's altered his mind.
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"I think India is winning, make the modification," he tells his bookie on the phone.

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

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

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

Aside from horse racing, sports betting wagering of any kind is not enabled in India. Despite that, illegal sports betting syndicates prosper in the country.

'Black cash'

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

With no legal opportunity, punters put bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookmakers. Gamblers can bet on anything related to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

Most of these deals involve so-called "black money", which is cash 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 internet gambling, there is nothing similar here.

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

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

But regardless of this, it is "offline gaming", done through telephone call which control 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 idea, saying it would help secure down on corruption in the nation's preferred sport.

The Justice RM Lodha Commission was established to suggest changes 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 emerged.

Two franchises have been banned for two years after some gamers and team officials were found guilty of repairing parts of the match at the wish of bookies.

The panel also argues that legalised sports betting will bring in tax profits for the exchequer that could total up to $2bn a year.

Even gamblers feel that legalising sports betting is a relocation in the right instructions.
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"I don't mind paying some cash out my earnings, as long as I can gamble openly," says our cricket bettor.

It would likewise open a huge organization opportunity for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online wagering business to set up operations in India.

And it would help restrict match repairing in cricket and other sports betting, argue numerous, by assisting make transactions associated with sports betting more transparent.

"If you work together with wagering business, you will have a really efficient technique of marking out match repairing," says George Oborne, who runs a mock sports betting site, India Bet.

But lots of also 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 unlawful sports betting due to the fact that (some) individuals would not want to leave an audit trail by going into the white market," states Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who utilize unaccounted cash to put big bets will never ever gamble legally.

Approval concern

For sports betting to be legalised, parliamentary approval will be needed to develop a new law, and politically this will be a tough concept to sell.
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"Despite the fact that many people are associated with some sort of gaming - it's still a controversial concern for many," says our unnamed punter.

And provided that India has a federal structural - each state will have to also pass a separate law to legalise sports betting gambling in their territory.

"The process is so long and difficult that it will take years," says Mr Ranina."That's why, we are cynical about this becoming a truth anytime quickly."

Yet with the concept having been endorsed by a main panel for the first time, at least a dispute has sparked around a topic - which previously was considered a taboo.
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