Feature
Fourth phase of polling begins in Kashmir
Srinagar: Polling started Sunday in the three districts of Srinagar, Anantnag and Shopian amid tight security even as few voters turned out to exercise their franchise because of freezing winter temperatures in the morning.
The constituencies are spread over four districts – Srinagar, Anantnag and Shopian – in the Kashmir valley and Samba district in the Jammu region.
Just two voters waited outside one polling station in Amira Kadal constituency in Srinagar as the doors of the polling station were opened to voters at 8 a.m.
In Batmaloo constituency of Srinagar city, only four voters came to cast their votes at a polling station.
Voter turnout in the morning was very low in Idgah, Habba Kadal, Khanyar and Hazratbal constituencies as well, but poll officials said the turnout would start to pick up as the day progresses.
A considerable number of early voters had turned up at Pahalgam, Doru, Shangus and Kokernag constituencies of Anantnag district, while voter turnout was low in the two constituencies of Shopian and Wachi of Shopian district.
A queue of voters started building up in the Khimer and Chatterhama villages of Sonwar constituency, where state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah is contesting from. His main challenger at the constituency is from the Peoples Democratic Party.
Voting is taking place for 16 constituencies in the Valley and two constituencies of Samba district in the Jammu region.
Keeping in mind reports that separatists might try to disrupt the fourth phase poll process in the state, 440 companies of central paramilitary forces have been deployed to secure the poll process. These are in addition to the already deployed personnel of the state police and the Central Reserve Police Force.
Separatists have called for a boycott of the poll process.
A total of 1,890 polling stations have been set up and over 14 lakh voters will decide the fate of political heavyweights.
Among the high profile candidates, whose political future would be decided in today’s polls are Omar Abdullah, former chief minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed and other ministers, including G.A. Mir, Ali Muhammad Sagar and Peerzada Sayeed.
The fate of Mubarak Gul, speaker of the outgoing state assembly will also be decided in today’s polls.
Polling will end at 4 p.m. today.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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