There was a time, not too long ago, when the mere mention of money was anathema in sports ~ professionals were allowed in Wimbledon for the first time in 1968, and in the Olympics only from 1988. Exclusion of professionals from prestigious sports competitions was mainly to further class distinctions ~ those playing for money being considered inferior. For example, cricketers were segregated between ‘gentlemen’ and ‘players’ (professionals), and only army officers and ‘gentlemen riders’ were eligible to take part in Olympics’ equestrian events.

Amateurism was carried to ridiculous levels ~ Jim Thorpe, the first American-Indian Olympics champion was wrongly stripped of his two 1912 Olympics gold medals, only because he had received $2 per game for some games of semi-professional baseball. The participation of professional sportsmen in tournaments immensely improved sporting standards. It also brought big money into sports ~ by way of advertisements and corporate sponsorships. Also, with players now free to declare their true status, it ended the unheal – thy practice of shamateurism, where players stealthily received payments, but were still classified as amateurs.

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However, an undesirable offshoot, sports betting, quickly followed in the wake of big money. During the 2000 South African cricket team’s tour of India, Delhi Police intercepted phone calls between the South African captain, Hansie Cronje, and an Indian bookie. Subsequent in – vestigations in India and South Africa revealed that a number of Test players, both Indian and South African, had been bribed to underperform. This was not the last instance when corruption was detected in cricket matches ~ since the year 2000, apart from domestic-level players, thirty-three international players have also been banned from cricket. Most competitive games have had similar scandals ~ Major League Baseball in the US had match-fixing scandals sporadically, right from 1919. Though sports betting is illegal, in varying degrees, in most countries, it has proliferated with the runaway increase in online betting apps and portals, which are hard to monitor because of their virtual nature.

In India, many betting apps claim to have local addresses but are based outside India, making oversight almost impossible. Probably, the 28 per cent GST imposed on betting receipts in India acts as a disincentive for promoters to register their apps in India. The Mahadev Betting App case investigated by the Enforcement Directorate blew the lid off the humongous illegal profits generated in betting, as also the contravention of a host of laws by betting apps. To recapitulate, Mahadev Betting App, an online betting platform, accepted bets on a number of games including poker, badminton, tennis, football, cricket, and even allowed bets on the Indian elections.

The platform also offered live card games like ‘Teen Patti’, Poker, ‘Dragon Tiger’, as well as virtual cricket games. Mahadev Betting App has been accused of match-fixing, and rigging games to ensure profits for panel owners and losses for punters. The app was operated by Dubai-based Saurabh Chandrakar, a former juice seller, and his accomplice Ravi Uppal, both originally hailing from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh. M/s Chandrakar and Uppal signed on franchis – ees, to enrol new users, create fake IDs, and launder money through a complex network of Benami bank accounts.

The operation reportedly generated daily profits of Rs.200 crore, of which a part went to bribe politicians and bureaucrats, Saurabh Chandrakar first attracted the attention of ED in February 2023, at the time of his opulent wedding in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, for which he had spent Rs.200 crore in cash. Interalia, Chandrakar hired private jets to transport relatives and Bollywood celebrities to Dubai, who performed at his wedding. Till date, the Mahadev Betting App scam has seen the registration of 75 FIRs, and arrest of 429 people, across India. So far, the ED has frozen, attached, or seized assets worth an astounding Rs.2,295 crore, with a recent at – tachment of assets of Rs.388 crore.

The Mahadev Betting App case is not an isolated instance of illegality on a large scale; the Enforcement Directorate has attached assets worth Rs 219.66 crore, in the case of ‘Fairplay’, a website that promoted online betting on the 2024 Lok Sabha Election results. Betting in India is governed by the Public Gambling Act 1867, according to which all kinds of betting is illegal ~ except games of skill. However, an independent study has estimated the online betting market in India at Rs.8 lakh crore. Sharp-eyed lawyers are quick to point out that the 1867 Act did not envision online gambling, putting such activities in a legal grey area. Also, the Information Technology Act, 2000, regulating cyber activities does not address matters related to gambling or betting.

Additionally, gambling is a State subject; various States have loosened the rigours of the Act in varying degrees, and casinos have blosso – med in Sikkim and Goa. India’s is not an isolated case ~ online betting has caught the fancy of pu n ters the world over, because of the ease with which people can place bets. Punters can bet using their smartphone, from the comfort of their home, or even from the stadium while watching a game. Betting apps are so sophisticated that countless types of bets can be placed ~ from game results, to how many extras a team concedes, or what will be the fate of the next ball.

This year Americans will wager nearly $150 billion on sports, as against a mere $7 billion in 2018. This would be in addition to $80 billion being gambled in online casinos, and bets of hundreds of millions of dollars placed on the outcome of the US Presidential Election. To put things in perspective, till 2018, sports betting was legal only in Nevada. Emboldened by a US Supreme Court verdict, thirty-eight States have legalised sports betting. In India also, some kinds of online betting have been held to be legal by a number of court decisions.

However, tax evasion and money laundering activities by online betting apps have put enforcement authorities perpetually on their trails, and 692 betting apps were blocked by Government authorities in the last two years. But within no time, the same persons or their proxies, floated similar apps. Most online betting operators are based in UAE, Sri Lanka and other South Asian countries. All app operators have armies of tele-callers and bookies to help them. In such circumstances, a better idea could be to legalise online betting and put in place a regulator to oversee their operations. As far back as 2013, the Mudgal Committee, established by the Supreme Court, to investigate issues of corruption and mismanagement in Indian cricket, recommended regularisation of betting activities.

This view was reiterated by the Lodha Committee, another committee appointed by the Supreme Court, to clean the Augean stables of cricket. The Law Commission had recommended legalisation of betting, with certain safeguards, in its Report No. 276 (2018). According to the Law Commission a regulated betting industry would generate substantial revenue, employment and tourism for the country. Following the Law Commission Report, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITy) amended Information Technology (IT) Rules 2021 to allow “permissible online real money games” but the amendments have not been brought into effect as the ministry has not approved any self-regulatory body required to assess and “permit” such games. It would appear that considerations of perception have tied the Government’s hands.

Till online sports betting is legalised and regulated, we may see more scandals of the Mahadev App kind, with concomitant violation of Indian laws. While apologists for gambling see it as an exercise of free choice, the house always wins, causing losses to and sometimes even bankrupting gullible individuals. In addition to the moral aspect, gambling often leads to addiction; there are myriad stories of adolescents and young people committing suicide after accumulating huge gambling debts.

Even children are getting hooked on online gambling. Happy families are ruined when a member gets addicted to gambling. Finally, gamblers never heed what Wilson Mizner, the American playwright, raconteur, and entrepreneur had aptly said: “Gambling is a sure way to get nothing for something.”

(The writer is a retired Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax)