Feature

Top three teams drop points in Bundesliga

Published

9 years ago

February 7, 2016

Berlin: Bayer Leverkusen held Bayern Munich to a goalless draw while Hertha Berlin and Borussia Dortmund equally shared the spoils in the 20th round of Bundesliga football league.

The top three Bundesliga teams on Saturday split points in the hunt for the Bundesliga title as Leverkusen secured one point on home soil against front-runners Bayern Munich whilst runners-up Dortmund were unable to break the deadlock against third-placed Berlin, reports Xinhua.

Josep Guardiola’s men suffered the second draw of the season and failed therefore to extend their lead atop the standings.

Leverkusen’s well-positioned defence gave the Bavarians a hard time. The hosts aggressively attacked the ball carrier and chocked off Bayer’s offensive action in the midfield. As a result, both sides got only one shot on target in the first half.

Leverkusen turned up in the second half but neither Javier Hernandez nor Hakan Calhanoglu were able to break the deadlock after the restart.

Guardiola reacted on Leverkusen’s action and fielded Thomas Mueller and Thiago Alcantara. Mueller was immediately a factor in Bayern’s game as the German World Cup winner came close to opening the scoring twice, in the in the 64th and 67th minute.

Bayern pressed for the winner but Leverkusen’s defence, especially Oemer Toprak and Jonathan Tah secured their side one point on home soil.

With the result, Bayern remain atop the standings with an eight-point advantage to Dortmund. Despite the draw, Leverkusen slipped to the fifth place.

The top clash between third-placed Berlin and Dortmund ended also goalless.

Thomas Tuchel’s men lacked surprisingly in penetration and failed to threaten Berlin’s goalkeeper Rune Jarstein in the first half. Berlin’s well-organised defence kept Bundesliga top striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the distance and forced Dortmund to look for other options. In addition, the “Herthaner” posed threat on counter attacks.

The “BVB” increased their efforts after the break and pressed the hosts into defence but for all that, Marco Reus and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were unable to make use of promising opportunities.

Berlin almost caught the visitors flat-footed in the closing period but Dortmund defender Sokratis denied Alexander Baumjohann the winner in the last nick of time.

Dortmund recorded their third draw of the season and stay on the second place while Berlin’s advantage on the third place melts away.

Elsewhere, Schalke upset harmless Wolfsburg 3-0 as Klaas Jan Huntelaar, Johannes Geis and Alessandro Schoepf were on target. The “Wolves” wait for their first win in 2016 while fourth placed Schalke set third-placed Berlin under pressure.

Ten-men VfB Stuttgart edged ten-men Frankfurt 4-2 to jump into the mid-table of the Bundesliga.

Mainz increased Hannover’s relegation worries with a 1-0 victory thanks to Jairo’s first half goal. After suffering the sixth straight loss, Hannover remain trapped in the Bundesliga bottom with seven points to safety.

Ingolstadt came from behind to beat Augsburg 2-1 by courtesy of Moritz Hartmann’s converted foul play penalty.

Up Next

Obama proposes to double US clean energy funding

Don't Miss

Coach Mourinho hints at Premier League return

Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

Published

2 years ago

June 25, 2022

admink

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.