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

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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 against Australia.

In his two-bedroom house situated in main Mumbai, a middle-aged man is enjoying the game, nervously. He's resting on the edge of his grey colour couch with his smart phone glued to his ideal hand.

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

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

"I believe India is winning, make the change," he informs his bookie on the phone.

And a couple of minutes later on his prediction comes real, as India wins the match in a nail-biting finish.

"I have actually made $200 today," he says 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 illegal in India.

Besides horse racing, sports betting of any kind is not allowed India. Despite that, prohibited sports betting syndicates prosper in the country.

'Black cash'

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

Without any legal opportunity, punters position bets utilizing their phones by making calls to bookies. Gamblers can wager on anything associated to the cricket match, from who is winning to the greatest specific run scorer.

The majority of these deals include so-called "black money", which is cash not stated to the taxman.

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

And overseas wagering companies are utilizing this loophole to lure Indians. Even though there are no online wagering operators based out of India, a lot individuals have actually registered accounts with offshore companies.

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

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

Require legalisation

The clamour to legalise sports betting in cricket has actually grown after a panel designated by India's Supreme Court proposed the concept, saying it would down on corruption in the country's favourite 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 been banned for 2 years after some gamers and group authorities were found guilty of fixing parts of the match at the behest of bookmakers.

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

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

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

It would also open a huge company opportunity for licensed bookmakers and worldwide online sports betting companies to set up operations in India.

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

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

But numerous likewise think, that the taxes levied on the gambler and the bookie will have to be reasonable to make it attractive enough for them to bet legally.

However, there are limitations.

"Definitely there will be prohibited sports betting since (some) individuals wouldn't want to leave an audit trail by getting in the white market," says Mr Oborne.

He includes that people who use unaccounted cash to place huge bets will never bet legally.

Approval concern

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

"Despite the fact that lots of people are associated with some sort of gambling - it's still a questionable concern for many," says our unnamed punter.

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

Yet with the concept having actually been backed by a main panel for the very first time, a minimum of a debate has fired up around a subject - which till now was considered a taboo.
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