Feature
Hamon, Valls qualify to France’s Left primary run-off
Paris: Former Education Minister Benoit Hamon and former Prime Minister Manuel Valls topped the list after the first round of the French Socialist Party primaries held on Sunday. Hamon, with the left wing of the Socialist Party, so far has obtained 35 per cent of the votes doing especially well among young, urban voters, EFE news reported. The more centrist Valls — well-known because of his stint as Prime Minister from 2014-2016 — obtained about 32 per cent votes, falling to second place against all predictions, with about 18 per cent going to former Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg, who was also one of the three favourites.
More than 7,500 polling stations collected votes in continental France and its overseas territories. With none of the candidates exceeding 50 per cent of the votes in the first primary round, French voting rules mandate that the two top vote-getters face off in a run-off on January 29. “By placing me in the lead, you sent a clear message of hope and renewal. You have expressed your desire to open a new page for the Left,” Xinhua news agency quoted Hamon as saying.
“We must finish with the old recipes, the old politics. I will continue to defend the priority given to the social issue, ecological conversion and democratic renewal,” he told his supporters. Long trailing his rivals in opinion polls, the 49-year-old left-winger has seen his ratings unexpectedly start surging a few days ahead of the contest after three televised debates gave him impetus.
Hamon is likely to pass the Left primary runoff with a strong lead thanks to the backing of defeated candidates including Montebourg. “Primary voters have spoken … They massively and seriously condemned the mandate (of the Socialist President Francois Hollande),” Xinhua news agency quoted Montebourg as saying after the release of the partial results. “Next Sunday, I will vote Benot Hamon and I invite you to do the same,” Montebourg said.
Losing momentum, Valls said that for the second round, “nothing is written.” “A new campaign begins this evening. A very clear choice is now for you and for us,” he said. Dominating France’s political landscape for decades, the Socialists and the broader Left are weakened by internal upheavals that it has been hard for them to build momentum to take on the right-wing and the far right party.
No left-wing candidate is likely to pass to presidential runoff on May 7 after Hollande’s policies had alienated left voters, the country’s pollsters predicted. The primary is the second such competition held by the Socialist Party and allies. In 2011, the Socialist Party had opened a two-round contest to all registered voters regardless of their political views as long as they share the left-wing values and donate 1 euro (1.069 U.S. dollar).
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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