NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing controversy relating to spot-fixing in IPL, the government is framing a stand-alone central legislation to check any activity of dishonest practice, match fixing/spot fixing in sporting events.

Announcing this over the weekend, Law minister Kapil Sibal said the process had been initiated as the attorney general for India Ghoolam Vahanvati had opined that "dishonest practices like match fixing/spot fixing are so abhorrent to the concept of sport, that they cannot fall within the concept of ?sports? occurring in Entry 33 and as explained by the supreme court in the Cricket Association of Bengal case. The power to regulate these activities cannot flow from the term ?sports? in Entry 33."

Furthermore, Vahanvati has said, "As far as Entry 34 of List II is concerned, the same reads ?betting and gambling?. In my opinion, dishonest practices like match fixing/spot fixing do not come within the purview of the terms ? betting and gambling?."

"Betting and gambling relate to wagering on the result of a sporting event or some events within a sporting event. Depending on whether such wagering is predominantly skill based or luck based, it is termed as betting or gambling respectively. On the other hand, the provisions with regard to control of malpractices would apply irrespective of whether or not betting or gambling is legal. In fact, corruption in sports can exist even if there is no betting or gambling involved. This clearly shows that Entry 34 of List II does not come in the way of a comprehensive legislation on the subject," he added.

Sibal said Vahanvati had also expressed the opinion that instead of going in for the amendments in the Indian Penal Code, it would be much better to have a stand-alone legislation. The minister said the basic draft of the proposed legislation will be complete in next few days after which it will be sent to the sports ministry for further action and discussion with all the stakeholders.

Sibal said that Rajiv Shukla and Arun Jaitley who are both associated with cricket bodies have also expressed the urgent necessity and support for such a central legislation and he hoped that the legislation will get the support of the opposition in the parliament, whenever it is tabled.

FICCI had last week recommended legitimising betting in sports to avoid unhealthy practices.

NEW DELHI: In the wake of the latest controversies related to the spot fixing case in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and revelations of the underworld?s role in sports betting; FICCI has once again reinitiated its call for regulating sports betting in India.

Despite several attempts to ban it, betting is continuing in an underground fashion and substantial resources have been invested into enforcing such a ban. Thus, the middle way out is to regulate it in a way which reduces this to an acceptable level. Hence, the Government should think of legalising and regulating betting.

India is continuing to lose billions of dollars in taxable revenue (an estimated Rs 12,000 to 20,000 crore annually) through black marketing operations in sports betting. According to FICCI, the greatest advantage of regulating sports betting is going to be the accountability for the large amounts of money transferred through illegal channels and reduction in cases of match fixing, money laundering and crimes.

If gaming and betting is regulated in India, it will benefit the exchequer and could potentially fund sports development, social protection or welfare schemes and infrastructure development plans.

In a representation submitted to government, FICCI has highlighted how blanket ban on sports betting has failed without proper regulation. In fact, this representation also highlighted the number of international examples of different countries who have benefitted from regulating the betting, added FICCI sources.

A system which seeks simply to prohibit rather than control gambling is turning its back on the problem. Ban cannot be implemented but sports betting can be controlled with proper regulation to prevent further deterioration of conduct of sports in country. When regulation arrives, it is true that problems are revealed, actions need to be taken and policies are enforced. FICCI realises the negative aspect of sports betting on the society.

The question now is how to tax the money involved in gambling and we need to devise a system which encourages betting operators to function openly. We also need to devise systems for protection for the young and vulnerable against the dangers of unwise betting behavior but these can be addressed only if we spot the victim and which is possible only through proper regulation. Active regulation is the only real solution - whether the underlying philosophy is to permit or restrict.

MUMBAI: A PIL was filed today in the Madras high court bench seeking to direct the government to take over the management and administration of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as it had failed to promote the game.

The PIL has alleged that the conduct of certain activities and receipt of income were totally commercial and there was no element of charity in the conduct of the BCCI. The court has sent a notice to the central government, IPL chairman Rajeev Shukla and BCCI president N Srinivasan. They have been asked to respond within two weeks.
 
In his petition, city-based lawyer V Santhakumaresan alleged that conduct of certain activities and receipt of income were totally commercial and there was no element of charity in the conduct of BCCI.

The surplus generated by BCCI was shared with players instead of being used for promoting the game claims the PIL.
 
The court should direct CBI to conduct investigation into the entire affairs relating to sources of income, financial status, betting, and match fixing, lawyer V Santhakumaresan who filed the PIL said. In addition the BCCI should desist from using the name ?Indian cricket team? for its team till disposal of the petition.