BCCI tells Supreme Court it opposes betting

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday made it clear in the Supreme Court that it was opposed to betting in cricket.

Making this submission before a bench of Chief Justice T.S. Thakur and Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla, senior counsel k.k. Venugopal, appearing for BCCI, said: “We don’t want betting at all. Betting and gambling are prohibited by law in different states. The BCCI does not support betting.”

The counsel, however, said the BCCI was supporting the recommendation made by the Justice Lodha committee for legalising betting. He said the board will support any legislative measure by the government to prohibit betting in cricket.

The counsel was responding to a submission made earlier by amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium that the Board had so far not come out with any statement on betting. The CJI also observed that while the BCCI and various state associations had come down strongly on the various recommendations of the Lodha panel, they have not made a single statement so far on the issue of betting.

Subramanium in his submissions said the Lodha panel recommendations must be implemented in its letter and spirit by the BCCI as it will improve the game.

He said the need for separating politics from the game of cricket is correctly expressed by the committee and it should be respected by the BCCI. The interest of the viewer, spectator and cricke tfans is an unrepresented interest before this court which must be protected.

He cited an instance where, for an international cricket match in the national capital, 10,000 passes were sought for 4,600 members, friends and families of the Delhi District Cricket Association.

It was these type of malaise which the Lodha panel has sought to correct so that that the game of cricket retains its pristine glory for the true cricket lovers, he added.