You betcha!

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Illegal betting for the Derby 20 times more than the legal route</span><br /><br />The Derby may be on Sunday, but betting fever''s already on in the city. And more than the legal betting scene, it''s the illegal one that''s seeing all the action. The illegal betting bids for this year''s Derby are already 20 times more than the ones on the legal.<br /><br />Bookies in Mumbai say that illegal betting on the Derby would involve a whopping Rs 450 to Rs 500 crore from all over India.In Mumbai alone, the bookies expect to make a business of Rs 40 crore. As compared to this, the official betting for Derby in Mumbai and Pune together (they are counted as one centre) is expected to be around Rs 2 crore.<br /><br />The reason for people putting in huge amounts through unofficial channels is said to be the tax structure. "The tax on book makers is 20 percent. Above this, on winning, one has to pay an additional 30 percent tax. If you lose, you lose the 20 percent amount paid as tax," says Vivek Jain, former Managing Committee member of Royal Western India Turf Club (RWITC). "If the government makes a rational tax structure, more betting can be done through the official channel. This will benefit the government too," says Jain. <br /><br />Moreover, the number of illegal bookies accepting bets on horse races in Mumbai is also high as compared to the official ones. "There are about 250 -300 bookies accepting bets illegally on horse races. As compared to this, the official stall owners in Mumbai are 31 while Pune has 19," says a bookie. He says that the illegal bets start much in advance. For the Derby betting reportedly started from Monday and the maximum business is likely to be conducted on Friday, when the race books are issued, say bookies.<br /><br />Further, those operating illegally are hardly present at the race course. These bookies operate through mobile phones and keep travelling in or around the city to avoid police raids.</div> </div>