Feature
World is watching Kashmir polls: Modi
Kathua (Jammu and Kashmir): Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Saturday the assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir were being closely watched by the entire world following the massive turnout by the people.
Addressing a large Bharatiya Janata Party election rally in this border district town in the Jammu region, Modi said the people of the state have proved that the power of democracy was far greater than the AK-47 rifle.
“The world is watching these elections because of the massive participation by the people,” he said.
Modi expressed happiness over what he called seeing a new hope and expectation on the faces of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
“I am happy your dreams have come alive and you have decided to realise these.
“It is my good fortune that in Jammu and Kashmir, no leader from any other party has had the opportunity to see so many people as I have been able to see.
“Whether it was Ladakh or any other part of Jammu and Kashmir, people of the state have given so much love to nobody else and I will return this to you with interest,” he said.
“Your love for me will be returned through development and prosperity.
Modi said that people who were making guesses on television screens about who will form the next government in Jammu and Kashmir “should come and see the people here before doing their electoral arithmetic”.
“I am addressing you from a place where Pakistan is on the other side and border firings take place frequently, but the people of this land do not run away because of fear. I have come to salute these brave people who hear the loud noises of bullets on the border each day.
He said governments are formed in democracies to address the problems of the people, “but I ask you, have your problems been addressed?”
Modi said the BJP never had a state government in Kashmir and people know who their “sinners” were.
“Unless you punish those sinners, they will not understand,” he said.
The prime minister said the Congress was now blaming the National Conference for not allowing it to fulfill its programmes, and asked why the party continued to remain in the government with the National Conference.
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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