Racing is the only legalised form of betting in India. However, the betting turnover on horse racing in India is a pittance when compared with the betting that takes place on cricket. The betting is not restricted to cricket that is played in India but conducted by illegal operators for matches held anywhere in the world as long as there is live telecast.
Of course, the volume of betting if the match involves India is phenomenal but there is no bar for betting even if there is a county cricket match in England if there is no international match to bet on. The proliferation of TV channels providing live feeds of crickets from all over the world has resulted in boom in betting. The betting has greater ramifications to the sport in general and this was the topic of a serious discussion at a business session during the 36thAsian Racing Conference held at Mumbai.
While betting by itself in a controlled environment is harmless, it can assume dangerous proportions when it is allowed to run by unscrupulous elements. The tide of illegal betting has assumed epidemic proportions, with “fixing’’ become a matter of grave concern. We have seen the ugly spectre of match fixing resulting in life time ban imposed on several Indian cricket players as also players from different countries. The epidemic is spreading surely to other sports as well so much so that illegal betting is now increasingly controlled by the mafia. The turnover on sports in illegal betting is pegged at 500 billion dollars while the legal channels attract much lower figure.
Greg Purcell, chief executive officer, New Zealand Thoroughbred Racing, served as chairman for the session. He said: “There is a saying that where there is money there is corruption, and this is true in all walks of life and across all commercial environments.”
“While legitimate legal wagering operators work within the laws and conform to prohibitions and restrictions set out by regulators, not to mention paying fees to the sports on which they wager, illegal operators don’t.”
Comparatively, he continued, “the illegal, unlicensed and unregulated gambling operators exploit markets where there is an absence of a legal wagering framework, work outside jurisdictional laws to meet unsatisfied demand, don’t pay fees to the sports on which they take bets and fall outside most of our current integrity systems.”
Martin Purbrick, Hong Kong Jockey Club’s director of security and integrity, briefed delegates on the growth of illegal betting in Asia, and the expanding reach of those operators beyond the region, serving as a driver for a host of criminal enterprises.
Match-fixing syndicates
“In the recent past we heard of massive match-fixing syndicates in tennis, an international cricketer from South Africa charged in similar scandals, and that half the Canadian Soccer League’s matches this season have signs of suspicious betting activity,” said Purbrick.
Estimating global betting revenue at US$716 billion of which $500 billion is estimated to be illegal, Purbrick noted that Asia is clearly the driver for all channels.
“The global illegal betting market is likely to be as big as US$500 billion in transactions, with Asia as the driver. The world’s largest legal and illegal betting outlets worldwide are headquartered in Asia, and they are likely responsible for 70 to 80 percent of that illegal market.”
Purbrick said: “The growth of illegal betting in Asia has led to global expansion of the operators, the consequent spread of criminal involvement in racing and other sports betting markets, as well as being a driver for other criminal problems such as sports corruption and money laundering.”
Rupert Bolingbroke, head of trading for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, provided insight to the customer targets of illegal gambling sites and identified key areas required to combat their influence.
“There are at least 2,500 illegal bookmaking websites in Asia, of which 20 to 30 are major players. While they have a huge existing client base, there is an increasing focus on youth gamblers,” said Bolingbroke.
“Even worse, many of these illegal operators are also specifically targeting youth, teenage gamblers, through virtual gaming and a series of token-based games,” said Bolingbroke. Focusing specifically on the impact in Hong Kong, he added that a single 12-month period yielded more than seven million unique page views from Hong Kong to betting websites which are not legally accessible by those residing there. “These operators get larger and larger every year.”
Neil Paterson, assistant commissioner, intelligence and covert support command, Victoria Police discussed law enforcement’s approach to illegal gambling, and its ties to organized crime.
“Illegal gambling is the perfect operating environment for organized crime and illegal gambling goes hand in hand with match fixing,” said Paterson. “Whilst traditionally organized crime has targeted illicit markets for revenues, they are more and more corrupting illicit markets. Where there is big money to be made, you will find organized crime. The size of the illegal markets is so large, the exact numbers are almost irrelevant,” added Paterson.
