Feature
Stage set for second phase polls in Odisha
The stage is set for the second phase of polling for five Lok Sabha and 35 Assembly seats in Odisha on Thursday.
A total of 76.93 lakh voters are eligible to cast their franchise for Bargarh, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Kandhamal and Aska Lok Sabha seats and 35 Assembly seats under these parliamentary constituencies spread across western and southern Odisha.
Of the total voters, 39.45 lakh male, 37.47 lakh female and 605 others will cast their votes in 9,117 booths, said sources at Chief Electoral Officer (CEO).
A total of 35 candidates are in the fray for the five Lok Sabha seats including 30 male and five female candidates. Similarly, 244 candidates are contesting for the 35 Assembly seats — of which 219 are male and 25 female.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will try to retain Sundargarh Lok Sabha seat — the lone seat it had won in 2014. Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram is contesting from the parliamentary constituency against BJD candidate Sunita Biswal, daughter of former Chief Minister Hemananda Biswal, and Congress candidate George Tirkey.
On the other hand, the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) will defend the other four Lok Sabha seats.
Several political heavyweights including BJD Rajya Sabha members Prasanna Acharya and Achyut Samanta, sitting Lok Sabha member from BJD Kalikesh Narayan Singhdeo, BJP National Secretary Suresh Pujari, former MP Sangeeta Singhdeo are contesting the Lok Sabha polls in the second phase.
Among the Assembly constituencies, BJD President and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is fighting from two seats — Hinjili under Aska LS constituency and Bijepur under Bargarh LS constituency.
Besides, senior Congress leader and opposition leader Narasingh Mishra is fighting from Bolangir Assembly segment while BJP legislature party leader K.V. Singhdeo is contesting from Patnagarh Assembly seat.
Re-polling will be held in two polling stations following reports of glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during the first phase of polling on April 11.
The re-poll will be held in two polling stations located in Malkangiri and Berhampur Assembly constituencies on April 18.
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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