DR ARBIND PRASAD// Such sports frauds are unfortunate and this spot fixing scandal has created credibility deficit on the governance of sports as a whole in the nation. It has hurt the sentiments of sports fans. FICCI had started talking about regulation few years back but now with re-emergence of this spot fixing scandal, it has become all the more important. FICCI believes betting should be legalised and regulated with law against sports fraud, if we want that people to have faith in the conduct of any sport in the country. We as a society and as a nation need to understand that it is inevitable and we need to regulate it. We need to understand that legalising and regulating sports betting might not completely solve the problem of fixing, but it will make it easier to track, investigate and catch anomalies and at the same time will make it less lucrative. The police, then, will no longer be involved in the preventive action but only in regulatory action. It will be more of a business transaction the way it happens in the share market. Bookmakers will be required to keep proper records of the transactions that they are involved with and know the identity of those with whom they are gambling, which is the key to ensure that sports fraud is detected and dealt with. Tracking cash exchanges among betting agents will be easier and when there's a greater fear of getting caught, it can translate into lesser illegal activities such as fixing. In fact license holders will themselves ensure and create systems where sports fraud would be very difficult as their licenses would get revoked, if they were found flouting the rules. This process is possible only after legalising and regulating betting. We at FICCI also believe that legalising will benefit sports as a whole and create interests in sports in general. There will be a demand for real time information on previous games, statistics on all the players, any changes or injuries to the current players, new player statistics and more. This will lead to creation and analysis of databases of various sports and sports persons which will benefit sports in general. Moreover there is going to be the accountability for large amounts of money transferred through illegal channels and reduction in cases of sports frauds like match fixing, money laundering and crimes. Besides, it could potentially fund sports development, social protection or welfare schemes and infrastructure development plan besides employment generation as in many other countries. Take the example of Britain. It has a gambling commission that regulates sports betting. Revenues generated are used for sports development, as all elite sports are funded by lottery funds. This process will help clear a lot of clutter because regulation is going to highlight problems and issues that had previously gone un-noticed. There will be a control over the money flows through black market. Besides, legalising and regulating betting will reduce event of match fixing, bring to limelight criminal bookmakers, there will be proper know your customer norms. Most countries that have permitted gambling/ Betting have statutory regulatory bodies/ gambling commissions created by the state which is responsible for distributing licenses to betting operators. The regulatory body will have an important role in examining license applications from third parties. The national regulatory body (a body at the central level) could regulate disputes, where violation/breach involves more than one state’s jurisdiction. These could have the power to null and void a particular bet, power to prosecute or seek cooperation between states as well formulating guidelines and dispensing information to the public about betting including listing events on which bets can be placed. The regulator will have powers of entry and inspection into the operator’s premises. Where problems are detected, the regulator will have powers to impose conditions on operators, together with a range of regulatory remedies from warnings to financial penalties, removal or suspension of a license and even criminal prosecution. We understand that betting comes with a social cost and can lead people to addiction, which in turn can lead to harming themselves or the loved ones. It is perfectly legitimate for members of the public to have different moral views either in favor or against betting/gambling, but we cannot neglect the fact that it is a social constant despite several attempts to ban it. As a democratic country, we should ensure that the public has the freedom of choice. That is why we need to ensure that there exists a framework designed to protect the young and vulnerable and to ensure good law and order before even licensing. Moreover, revenue generated by sports betting would go toward rehabilitation/ de-addiction and education programs for compulsive better/gamblers besides sports development. It happens like this in many other countries. According to a KPMG study, betting market in India is `300,000 crore, with a possible taxation revenue of `20,000 crore with moderate tax on profits. But legal sports betting would provide a new source of revenue from a huge pool of money that now flows untaxed to unlicensed offshore of Internet sites or to illegal bookmakers, many of whom are allied with organised crime. This implies taxation revenues for Government, and more money for sports development which can be distributed between Govt. of India, National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), States who legalise it and National Sports Federation and the most importantly to employment generation and flourishing of an industry. One must understand that betting is prohibited on a game of chance and not on a game of skill. Horse racing and rummy, for instance, are games that require great skill; hence betting on them is legal. Sport betting requires know how of players, their previous track records, playing conditions and much more which makes it predominantly a game of skill and chance plays a very small aspect in the game. Hence there is no reason to not allow betting in football and cricket. In fact, this is the pre-text on which FICCI has put forth its representation to the government. This clarification was also mentioned in one of SC’s judgments. But most importantly, even before we start talking about the increase or decrease of fixing, we must understand why fixing is done. This is done to earn abnormal profits by managing outcomes. If one can’t manage this outcome, he would not be able to earn abnormal profits. So in case of regulated betting, regulatory commission / nominee would define the rules regulation and type of betting and not the fixer. Hence general public will prefer to bet on an officially recognised betting platform and will avoid route of bookmakers, nobody wants to associate themselves with criminals. Moreover, public will have incentives in placing bets with licensed operators. Therefore, as customers will move towards the legitimate regulated industry, the volume of betting and money will move away from the illegitimate industry— it will choke the supply of liquidity to the dishonest operators and thus will reduce sports fraud like match fixing.