The Great Gamble

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. In such circumstances, a better idea could be to legalise online betting and put in place a regulator to oversee their operations

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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 unhealthy practice of shamateurism, where players stealthily received payments, but were still classified as amateurs. 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 investigations 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.