Cricket match-fixing and the Indian connection
With the recent spot fixing scandal going around the circles of the sport of cricket, something disturbing seems to be emerging in the mix. There seems to be a heavy Indian connection in most match fixing scandals and spot-fixing incidents around the world. That is not to say all the scandals have some Indian connection but a lot of them do.
Sources have claimed that a good proportion of the Indian population loves to bet on almost everything, this might be a reason for the fact that a lot of match fixing allegations seem to stem from India. The IPL could be another example where the ease in which a T20 match can be fixed and the potential for lucrative returns as the reward are simple astounding. Whatever the reasons might be, some have suggested that the solution might be very simple in the long run.
India has a long history of betting, but there are only a few things that a person in India can legally bet on. Horseracing is one sport which has legal backing along with a few states where casinos are open to the general public. The odd thing is that betting on cricket is illegal in the country. This has led to the current problem of match-fixing and corrupt bookies. A few specialists in the field say that India should legalise gambling in cricket because by banning it, the authorities have pushed it underground and once underground it becomes very difficult to regulate. When it is legalised, authorities can effectively deal with a few corrupt individuals in the mix. Bookies should be registered along with betting companies who will pay tax to the government. In this way, the entire industry becomes regulated and the government gets a sizable chunk of revenue which they do not receive at the end of the day.
The rise of the IPL has given gamblers a perfect avenue for betting on cricket. T20 cricket is interesting because unlike other formats of the game, the outcome can sometimes depend on the performance of a single player. The whole match can come down to the last over that a bowler has to bowl or the last wicket stand for a batsman. That makes this a very lucrative environment for betting. People can bet on a single ball, an entire over, a batsman getting out or hitting a six or any other combination of events in the match. It was estimated that the IPL season which preceded the T20 World Cup in the West Indies had betting to the tune of £12 million per match.
Moreover, these were legal bets. The underground and illegal bets that took place inside India must have been about 20 or 25 times higher than this amount. This also makes it a potential disaster when it comes to match-fixing. With so much potential to make more money from something like a single ball or a single shot, spot fixers get involved and make sure they make money off of that one event by bribing cricket players. The T20 format is also very difficult for the authorities to gauge things like spot-fixing because it is so fast paced and there is so much pressure on a single ball that anything can happen. It is very hard to prove that a T20 match has been fixed but if betting was legal in India, it would make it a lot easier to monitor.
In almost all match fixing allegations that have surfaced recently after the fallout from the News of the World story, many current and former players came out and said that they were approached by middlemen to throw or fix matches. The interesting part of this is that most claimed the middlemen had some connection with someone in India. When Hansie Cronje was banned for life ten years ago, he claimed that an Indian bookie was working behind the deals. Recently, when Shane Watson alleged that he was approached by a bookie to throw a match, he revealed that the bookie had ties to an Indian group. Even the middleman at the centre of the current Pakistan spot fixing allegations has links with some Indian bookies.
The only way out for Indian cricket at the moment seems to be to legalise gambling on cricket in the country. If they can do that, then they might be able to nip the match fixing scandal in the bud. They might be able to end it once and for all. But will they? That is the question that everyone wants to know and maybe if they do, the ICC might save cricket’s future.
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