Feature
Why Orlando shooting was deadliest in US history
New York:Fifty people were killed and 53 others injured on Sunday when an Islamic State (IS) gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
Xinhua news agency compiled the major shooting incidents in the US that caused deadly casualties in the past decades.
On June 12, 2016: A gunman killed at least 50 people and injured 53 at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.
On April 16, 2007: A 23-year-old student from the Republic of Korea went on a shooting spree at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg of Virginia, killing 32 people and wounding 15 others before killing himself. It was the worst school shooting in the US history.
On December 14, 2012: A 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 28 people including 20 children and eight adults in Sandy Hook Elementary School in the US state of Connecticut. Lanza first killed his mother at their shared home before taking her guns and driving to the school.
On October 16, 1991: A 35-year-old gunman crashed his truck through the wall of a Cafeteria in Kileen, Texas and shot dead 23 people and wounded 27 others. He then committed suicide.
On July 18, 1984: A 41-year-old gunman killed 21 adults and children at a local McDonalds in San Ysidro, California before he was killed by a SWAT team sniper.
On August 1, 1966: A former US Marine killed 14 and wounded at least 30 while shooting from a University of Texas tower in Austin, Texas. Police officers shot the gunman dead in the tower. Before he went on the shooting, he murdered his wife and his mother in their homes.
On December 2, 2015: A married couple shot 14 people dead and wounded 17 in a conference hall at a service centre for disabled people where county employees gathered for a celebration in San Bernardino, California.
On August 20, 1986: A part-time mail carrier armed with three handguns killed 14 postal workers in Edmond, Oklahoma in 10 minutes before killing himself.
On November 5, 2009: Major Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 people and injured 32 at Fort Hood, Texas in a shooting rampage. He was convicted and sentenced to death.
On April 3, 2009: Jiverly Wong killed 13 people and injured four during a shooting at an immigrant community centre in Binghamton, New York and then took his own life.
On April 20, 1999: Two teenagers killed 12 fellow students and a teacher before committing suicide in the school library in Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.
On February 18, 1983: Three men entered the Wah Mee gambling and social club in Seattle, Washington, robbed the 14 occupants and shot 13 of them dead.
On September 16, 2013: Thirty four-year-old Aaron Alexis fired inside the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12. He was also killed in the shooting.
On July 20, 2012: A heavily-armed 24-year-old gunman killed 12 people and 58 wounded in a shooting at a movie theatre in Aurora, Colorado.
On March 10, 2009: Michael McLendon of Kinston killed 10 people including his mother, grandparents, aunt and uncle, and then committed suicide.
An average of about 33,000 people were killed by guns each year in the US in the past five years, according to the data released by the US Central of Disease Control.
Reports said that during Obama’s seven and half years in office, he has come out to address a major shooting tragedy for a total of 15 times.
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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