WHY SPORTS BETTING IS ON THE RISE IN INDIA?

Why betting is popular in the world

Everyone wants to win as much money as possible in sports betting. Undoubtedly, a large selection on this topic helps a lot. Bookmakers make sure that players have ample room to maneuver, so players have the opportunity to choose between different sports. There is no shortage of the most popular sports such as football, ski jumping, volleyball or basketball. It is possible to make money on sports betting, especially if the player has a lot of knowledge about this sport. Of course, first, you have to choose the right bookmaker, and it is best in this case to choose reputable bookmaker companies such as 4rabet, which have long experience in their field and good reviews of their services in the betting industry.

With such bookmakers, you can not only safely deposit and withdraw funds, but also systematically multiply your account balance. Every year the number of bookmakers operating in our country is constantly increasing. The rivalry between bookmakers also makes the odds of winning under certain conditions attractive. It also affects the earning potential. The lack of a monopoly also means that you can look forward to attractive welcome bonuses or promotions for repeat users.

Even more emotions while watching the meeting. We think everyone will agree that the adrenaline level rises when someone puts, for example, 1000 Rupees on some long-awaited sporting event. Then watching such a meeting brings much more emotion than if that kind of money was not delivered. Therefore, in addition to satisfaction from a potential victory, we can also think about a certain financial benefit, which will bring additional emotions from watching this sporting meeting.

The Law Commission has said in one of its recommendations that if betting and gambling in sports cannot be completely banned, and then it should be effectively regulated. This suggestion by the Law Commission to bring betting and gambling within the purview of the law is welcome.

If the government accepts this suggestion, then it will reduce many types of criminal activity. If this will curb money laundering and tax evasion largely, then there will also be a huge increase in tax collection.

The legal status of betting in India

The Law Commission’s opinion on this issue is similar to the recommendations of the Justice Lodha Committee, which said that betting in cricket should have legitimacy and match fixing should be made a crime.

In 1996, the Supreme Court while recognizing betting in horse racing said that it is not a game of coincidence, but it requires cleverness and skill. The Law Commission has also done a good job of eliminating the prejudice against sports by suggesting regulation of betting in all sports (sports that need skill). If betting is kept out of the purview of illegal activities, then transparency will come in and those who are engaged in it through underground will be easier to reach the police and other agencies.

Betting and gambling are state subjects. Goa and Sikkim have given legal recognition to many activities related to them. Other states can also learn lessons from these two small states. If betting and gambling related activities are conducted through media platforms, then the Parliament can make a model law for this and the state governments can change this according to their own and implement this law. However, it will be easier for the states to give legitimacy to betting by improving their already existing laws.

At present, there is a direct tax of 30 percent on the income from horseracing and lottery. At the same time, GST also applies to the commission of the distributor. According to an estimate, the betting underground activities are worth around Rs 3, 00,000 crore. Obviously, if these activities are given legitimacy, then this area can prove to be a golden egg-laying hen according to tax collection for the Center and the states. At the same time, tourism and employment opportunities can also be increased by allowing foreign investment in activities like casinos. In this case, India needs to learn from Britain, where a very effective system of betting and gambling regulation is maintained with sufficient vigilance.

The phenomena of sport betting popularity in India

The rise of sport betting in India is a result of the specific market interests. The sports, which are popular in India, made bookmakers to capture orienteer on horseracing, cricket, and Indian soccer leagues. The rise of the sports industry is a direct determinant to the betting popularity in India. So, you have to learn the main facts about sport industry in India to understand the source of betting auditory

Sport is experiencing an upswing in India. India is of course famous for cricket, but it is not the only popular sport. The country offers sporting diversity and interesting investment opportunities for international sports companies. In an interview with ISPO.com, an expert and sports entrepreneur said: “We can keep up with Russia and China.” The Indian sports market offers these opportunities.

According to studies, the upswing in the Indian sports market has three main reasons:

  • a growing middle class,
  • a higher income
  • In addition, increased interest in sporting events (especially since the 2010 Commonwealth Games, the Cricket World Cup and Formula 1 in 2011).

I have to notice that this is only the basis for the sports betting development. The rest of the rise factors are yet to come. 

Indian government relies on sport. The Indian government has the goal of creating a wide range of sports, also to combat the increasing obesity among children. In competitive sports, the goal was set to win twenty gold medals at the 2020 Olympic Games.

However, analyzes see India as a long way off. The sporting goods market is mainly characterized by ball and racket sports. In 2013, cricket had the largest turnover in the Indian sporting goods market with approximately 40 trillion Indian rupees (over 500 million euros).

Harit Mehta is the director of Haren Textiles Pvt Ltd in Mumbai. A family-run textile company that also specializes in materials for sportswear with sales of $ 27 million. Mehta knows the Indian sports branch and industry very well thanks to his many years of expertise. He established European standards for his company, especially in the area of ​​sustainability, and works with Stanford University and Accenture. He is also a scientific writer for management strategies.

When you think of India and sports, you think of cricket and maybe hockey. Nevertheless, sports in India are not one dimensional, which provides good developing space for betting. 

Cricket gets the most money, but there are many other team sports, which play in India. Football and hockey are on the up again. Tennis and basketball are very popular in the upper middle class; badminton is especially popular with the younger generation. Squash is experiencing an upward trend among young men in cities with populations over 100,000. 

In addition, more and more people in cities with at least 20,000 inhabitants are enthusiastic about personal fitness training and gyms. In addition, in rural areas, wrestling, kabbadi – a team sport without play equipment – and guli danda, a cricket-like game played by many children who cannot afford a cricket bat, are still popular.

 All these sports you can find on 4rabet. The bookmaker, which represents the interest of Indian market. Every big fixture is up for betting on 4rabet and even though there is pandemic situation now, the market still breathe and bookmakers continue their service.

The soccer and cricket as a factor of betting rise in India

The betting would not exist in India without Indian soccer league and IPL- one of the greatest cricket championships. 

Indian Super League consists of ten teams from nine different states of India. Unlike other football leagues, the ISL does not use promotions and accusations, but rather Major League Soccer in the United States and Australia in the A-League , although it pays more attention to those matches. To draw is because the definition of derby is a rivalry between two teams from the same city. In 2017, the competition added two new clubs, Jamshedpur and Bengaluru

For the 2018-19 season, each team could have a maximum of 25 players on its roster and a minimum of 22. Players are to be represented by FSDL agents. Out of 22-25 players in the roster, a maximum of seven players can be foreigners, while at least two Indians must be developmental players.  Each team is also allowed to spend a maximum of ₹ 17.5 crore on their squad, as it will be the salary cap of this season. Finally, each team is allowed to sign a marquee foreign player who will not go towards the salary cap, but it is not compulsive. 

On 4rabet, you can find the best fixtures of this tournament and support your favorite team. More and more Indians are choosing football as a main target for betting, the media developed and people spectate the best European leagues. The popularity of top European leagues made it globalize. The passion to Seria A, EPL, Bundesliga, UCL and La Liga has no borders. Indians love betting in the international offices, which are the fundament of every European League. 

The gold mine of betting in India is IPL. The Indian Premier League (IPL for short) is a Twenty Twenty tournament run by the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The Indian Premier League (IPL), a professional Twenty Twenty cricket league in India, is contested every year by franchise teams representing Indian cities. The league, established by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) member Lalit Modi in 2007, is scheduled over April and May of every year.  Vivo Electronics, the title sponsor of the IPL in 2016, is thus the league officially known as the Dream 11 Indian Premier League. The ICC Future Travel Program has a special window.

13 teams have to compete since the league’s first season; six have won the title at least once. While Rajasthan Royals , Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad have won once and Mumbai Indians , Chennai Super Kings three times and Kolkata Knight Riders , have won twice.  By 2014, the top three teams in the tournament qualified for the Champions League Twenty20.  However, the Champions League Twenty20 was shut down but it continued afterwards. In 2019, it took place in UAE. 17 January 2008 it was announced that a consortium network consisting of Sony Entertainment Television (Set Max) of India and Singapore-based World Sport Group acquired the global broadcast rights of the Indian Premier League. The record deal is a ten-year term at a cost of US $ 1,026 billion. As part of the agreement, the unions pay and will pay for the BCCI US $ 918 million television broadcast rights to promote the US $ 108 million tournament. For the initial plan, 20% of these rupees will go to IPL, 8% as prize money and 72% to 2012, after which IPL will go public and list of its shares distributed to franchisees from 2008 onwards. However, in March 2010, IPL has decided not to go public and list its shares. Sony also sold broadcast rights (geographically) to other companies. Sony Pictures Network India earned Rs. 1200 crores from the ninth edition of IPL only through advertisements. This was 20 times more than the previous version.

The specific rules create specific betting approach and timing. Currently, with eight teams, each team plays each other twice in a home and away round robin tournament.  At the conclusion of the league stage, the top four teams qualified for the finals. The top two teams play each other in the first preliminary round match, with the winner going straight to the final, while the loser moves on to the second preliminary round. Teams in the third and fourth place have to decide who will take on the loser from the preliminary round match for the first time play each other.  The winner of the second preliminary round match will move on to the final where the winner will be crowned Indian Premier League champion.

Conclusion

Summarizing is concerned with expressing the facts, which became the basis for the rise of sports betting in India. India is big and prospective country with developed entertainment market. Therefore, there were no walls between success and these features:

  • Great interest to sports due to government program
  • Original sports create specific field for betting companies and customers to cooperate 
  • ISL and IPL as a prospective foundation for the breakthrough to the international market.