Horse-racing clubs bet on online forums to stay afloat | Economic Times

MUMBAI: Punters may quietly escape the stigma of gambling on horses while newcomers, hoping on beginner’s luck, will be spared from surreptitiously entering the race course on Thursdays and weekends. The new norm of social distancing that Covid-19 has imposed may soon pave the way for anyone, anywhere to legally bet on horses by using their mobile phones.Bangalore and Royal Calcutta Turf Clubs recently got the green signal from their state governments. Now, Royal Western Indian Turf Club (RWITC), which hosts races at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Race Course and in Pune, is in talks with Paytm First Games, the digital gaming arm of Paytm, to examine an online betting system. However, old-timers say that RWITC may have to tread more cautiously than other clubs with the Shiv Sena not too happily inclined towards racing — having even expressed in the past a desire to take over the race course to create a huge public park. A few years ago, the Lodha committee had recommended legalisation on online gambling on cricket. But the Law Commission has raved and ranted against it. So, while the cricket aficionados will have to wait for official gambling to begin in India, the horse owners and turf clubs may end up stealing a march over them.“Until a vaccine is found, it is extremely unlikely that spectators will be allowed to watch horse racing from the stadium or some of the authorised off course centres. The only way turf clubs can finance horse racing is therefore through online betting,” said a veteran in the racing circuit who hopes that the game (as he describes it) would survive the crippling Goods & Service Tax (GST), attacks from anti-gambling crusaders and women’s groups.76884736‘A Legal Activity’The veteran believes the game will keep on going amid the age-old blot on horse racing, and a flourishing army of unlicensed bookies who accept bets on local (and even London races) and cash-settle the money between winners and losers every Monday.How will Mumbai and Pune, which have been hosting races for more than 130 years, play the game? The online betting issue will soon come up before the RWITC committee. The club’s managing committee members declined to discuss the subject. A text message sent to a Paytm spokesperson remained unanswered till the time of going to press.Paytm First Games is a separate entity which is unconnected to the group’s core financial services businesses; and, Paytm is the flagship brand of the Delhi-based One97 Communications Ltd which was founded by Vijay Shekhar Sharma.“At a perceptional level in some quarters horse racing may be considered as gambling activity but purely from legal perspective, playing of skill games such as horse racing for money is not considered as gambling. The Supreme Court has held horse racing to be a game of skill and also held that conducing of skill gaming activity is not gambling. Several skill games are being played online now. So it is only natural that horse racing could also follow the suit,” said lawyer Gowree Gokhale of Nishith Desai Associates. “However, from player protection perspective there should be adequate checks and balances such as self exclusion, transaction limits, protection of player funds etc, said Gokhale.Several skill gaming companies have adopted self-regulatory charter for this purpose,” said Gokhale, who has advised several gaming companies.The racegoers may not find too many symapthisers — more so, at a time the country is overwhelmed by a pandemic. Not only RWITC has to obtain a licence from the state, it has to take all the precautions: conducting racing events, even in the absence of spectators, involves interaction with trainers, jockeys, handlers, officials and a lot of other personnel. A high GST rate has already driven many punters underground. “In my view, the GST ought to be made applicable only on the commission charged by the operator. It is unfair to consider the entire amount put at stake to be considered as taxable base,” said Gokhale. This may be music to gambler’s ears. But, is anyone listening?