Feature
BJP will repeat UP performance in Odisha: Amit Shah
Bhubaneswar: BJP president Amit Shah today said that the party demolished a myth that regional parties were invincible by winning in Uttar Pradesh defeating Samajwadi Party and was able to repeat the performance in Odisha.
While addressing BJP National Executive meeting here, Shah came down heavily on Odisha government which is headed by BJD, also a regional party.
“Mis-governance of Naveen Patnaik government has added to the miseries of the people in the state,” Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said quoting Shah while briefing reporters after inauguration of the two-day National Executive meet.
He said that the people of Odisha were deprived of basic amenities like drinking water, power and sanitation.
Shah, in his speech, said that 14 per cent people in Odisha were denied safe drinking water, 22 per cent did not have toilet and 41 per cent lacked quality electricity.
This apart, 46 per cent of the state’s population were below poverty line (BPL), Shah said.
“The Centre has given adequate funds to the state through different means and the 14th Finance Commission has allocated good amount of money. If the state government does not make proper utilisation of the funds, it is state’s failure,” Shah said.
The people of UP rejected family politics, caste politics and a ‘non-performing’ government, he said referring to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik who has been carrying forward his father Biju Patnaik’s legacy.
BJP was earlier weak in Odisha, but the situation has changed and now the party is at number two, pushing Congress to third position in local body elections, Shah said.
“We were also weak in north eastern states like Assam and Manipur. But, BJP formed governments in these two states.
We will also win Odisha,” Shah said at the meeting.
Prasad said Shah thanked the people of Odisha for backing BJP in a big way in recent Panchayat polls and according an “unprecedented” welcome to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his arrival here.
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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