Feature
Online media journalists will have bright future, WMA working in such directions
New Delhi: The Web Media Association (WMA) today organized a meeting at Press Club of India in national capital to work on the pattern so that digital media should move in dangerous condition in future and also to make organization work in better position in other states as well, this was chaired by Chandra Shekhar Joshi.
Several media journalist from different parts of country make their presence in this meeting also representatives from many states of India have made their presence with prominence of Tiyag Raja from Karnataka, Laxman Patel from Gujarat state, Gita Ben from Goa’s Daman district, Arif from southern state Kerala and Navneet from New Delhi.
Senior Vice President of the WMA from Karnataka said that the membership should be increased. On other hand, Lakhman who hailed from Gujarat state praised the work of the association said that this formation of WMA is a good thinking for improvement of new media and his whole team stands as a family member with the Web Media Association and will extend full cooperation.
WMA working in such directions, online media journalists will have shining future:
No only this, Geeta who participated for the first time as association’s meeting member from Goa state, appreciated the work done by the organisation and extended good wishes for better functioning in future. It is interesting to notice that representing Kerala state Asif, took the ‘life time membership’ of the association and he further promised to add more member in association from his state.
The executive vice president of the WMA, Navneet apprised all the present members and appreciated the work done by the association. He also introduced all works don by the association reputed attendants to accelerate the association membership campaign in their respective territories, while convincing them that the association efforts are also being made to get an advertisement for news portal powered by members.
At the end of meeting, the National President thanked the members coming from different regions of country and demanded that a membership campaign would be started by them in their respective states, so that the presence of the association would be marked in every state of India for betterment of digital media.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.