It is a well known fact that licence holder bookmakers are operating at various race club premises and they are not showing their real turn over in their betting sheets just to evade tax and generating black money. After the raid on bookmakers at Mumbai race course a few months ago recently IT sleuths conducted raid on four licensed bookmakers of Hyderabad Race Club and seized one crore unaccounted money. It is also a well known fact that the main income of licensed bookies is from tax. They hide ninety percent of their transactions either by noting the major bettings in race book or on white paper and thus incurring heavy tax loss to state and central government.
Recently the HRC Chairman R Surendra Reddy took initiative in this regard and wrote to the commissioner of police to curb the illegal bettings and activities. We are aware Race Club charge the stall rent from the bookies and collect the tax amount from from them by way of cheque for submission to government but they have no control over tax malpractices. It was also disclosed by the chairman of HRC that before GST the clubs annual turnover was 1200 crores per annum but after GST it come down to 480 crores per annum thus resulting a turnover loss of 720 crores per annum and ultimately heavy tax loss to government. GST caused low turnover is a fact, and a representation also submitted in this regard to finance minister and the action is awaited, but other factors such as illegal bettings are also responsible for this drop out in turnover. If race clubs are serious than a solution can be found to curb this. Tax should not be collected as per betting sheets because ninety percent transactions are out of betting sheets. Bookmakers should be asked to put certain minimum turnover limit and if they show less turn over than tax should be charged as per minimum turn over limit fixed.
Apart from illegal doings of licensed bookmakers number of illegal private bookmakers are also operating under the nose of race clubs and at other places outside the race course and their turn over also exceeds lakhs and crores and they are not paying any taxes to the government. They are tempting punters to pay half or less tax and do illegal bettings. Police have to serious about such offenders and conduct surprise raids in club premises and at other private illegal bookmakers premises.
I appreciate the initiative of HRC chairman and hope other race clubs will follow him for suitable action at their end to curb illegal bettings. I also wish all race clubs to reduce tax on tote bettings to encourage more and more punters for tote bettings. It is in everyone ‘s interest and everyone will be in their limits and enjoy the game and not indulge in heavy gambling such as happening with book makers or it should be made mandatory to do bettings and payments with debit cards where everything will be on records other wise black money generation will go on and on and on....and there will be no end. Everything on paper and cashless and transparent. If you are earning pay taxes. At any cost generation of black money should be stopped.
8 Replies
Ask said ...
11-Mar-2019
It is question of survival.With full gst there is simply no meaningful business.So race club management should stop issuing book makers licence than complaint to police/authority.
Srinivas Hyd said ...
11-Mar-2019
You are cent percent right sir, it is fact that bookmakers of Hyd are not maintaining uniformity in collection of GST..I hope HRC will look forward on this matter.
Deepak said ...
11-Mar-2019
Hello Sharma jii,
Please post at least your valuable tips for one race on all race days. I am big follower of yours tips.
Thank you sir
Mad Max said ...
11-Mar-2019
@ Hi
There are many reasons to believe that the entire amount amassed by bookmakers by way of tax evasion is shared by top bosses of the club. Else why dont they take action against the culprits, it is happening under their noses. Top bosses of the club + IT Department + Police all are hand in hand - MAY BE
Rajesh K said ...
11-Mar-2019
we are the people who pay less tax first,if we pay full tax and after that the horse wins and pay the tds on our winnings ,there will be no problem.The real problem is we dont want to pay more tax and dont want others to deduct tax on winnings.govt knows what itis doing .they know who runs what and who is involved in wrong doings.Just look at the pathetic situation RWITC is because it encouraged illegal betting and never kept the tabs on bookmakers ,who never showed records to tax authorities.
Smart-still-poor-punter said ...
11-Mar-2019
This problem has not been addressed for many years now.
Bookmakers have got used to illegal betting so much so that it's going to be very difficult for them to live without black money. The acceptance of bets on unofficial sheets and white papers will continue unless stringent measures are unleashed. But who is concerned about all this?
There is nothing wrong if the government decides to appoint a Tax Inspector in every race course on race days. His task can be to accept official sheets as soon as the race starts and ensure that the payments are made only to such entries made on the sheet. No bookie will dare to indulge in illegal betting. Will they?
Those who do illegal betting standing in front of the bookmakers should be straight away caught by their collar and put behind the bars for at least 10 years so that when they come out, little do they think about venturing into illegal betting anymore. Will they act?
Elections are round the corner and many of these bookies fund several political parties heavily. So who will dare to bell the cat?
We will continue to cry and the bookies will have the last laugh. The less said the better?
Raghavan said ...
11-Mar-2019
S C Sharma,
HRC chairman has to be appreciated! I think you are giving him much higher credit than what he deserves.
I do not know when Surinder Reddy took the charge. But if he had written to Commissioner atleast within a fortnight of taking the charge, then there would have been some substance/merit in what you have said.
These corrupt supervisory staff/stewards have made a mockery of the Government Laws. At Mumbai, one police officer has successfully stopped the bookies operation.
Your statement that the Club has no control over the malpractice of the bookie is rather outrageous. I would have agreed with you if such a development is from Jan 2019, But such dirty acts are on since 2009 at least and .I am afraid we can not take whatever the Chariman, HRC says as Gospel Truth!
Whether there is any improvement in the situation after such raids? Whether bookies have stopped taking bets at half tax?
It requires only 5 minute observation at the ring to be satisfied that there is huge gol-maal in taking bets. The Chairman post in HRC is not ornamental. He could have ordered suspension of 2 or 3 bookies straightaway and in case there is no improvement could have suspended the bookie operation completely. Instead he is shedding crocodile tears about loss in tax/club revenue now. A pathetic show of noutanki!
Bluebubbletron said ...
11-Mar-2019
Before GST a punter could even back 100 Rupees with a Bookie but now no bookie will accept less than 1000 many will accept nothing less than 2000, isn't it illegal? Is the club aware of this. I'm sure they are but they care a damn about the punters money, and bookies make their own rule. Why can't they crack down and ensure that bookies abide by the minimum bet rule?
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