Feature
Travel ban hearing: US judges put lawyers on their heels
Washington: An US appeals court that questioned whether President Donald Trump’s travel ban discriminates against Muslims, witnessed steep grilling of lawyers by a federal judge’s bench, a media report said on Wednesday. As the appeals court on Tuesday night sought to determine whether to lift the nationwide halt against it, lawyers from the Justice Department and Washington state came under heavy firing from the bench, CNN reported. The hearing conducted by telephone contained moments of high drama as one of Trump’s signature policies against refugees and visitors from seven mainly Muslim countries, was challenged by two states and numerous advocacy groups.
The Trump administration argued the courts have improperly inserted itself into the national security sphere. “This is a traditional national security judgment that is assigned to the political branches and the President,” August Flentje, special counsel to the assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, told the bench from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Flentje faced skeptical questioning from the judges, who pressed the DOJ lawyer about what evidence the government was presenting that the travel ban is necessary. Judge Michelle T. Friedland out of the gate asked if the government could point to any evidence “connecting these countries with terrorism.”
Judge Richard R. Clifton seemed sympathetic to the fact that the states have the standing, or ability, to bring the suit against the administration. Clifton called the government’s argument “abstract,” noting there are existing procedures to vet individuals for visas. Washington State Attorney General Noah Purcell, representing his state and Minnesota, which are challenging the Trump executive order, defended the role of the courts.
“It has always been the judicial branch’s role to say what the law is and serve as a check … has never been more important than it is today,” he said. If the court were to lift the injunction it would throw the country back into “chaos,” he said. The Trump administration can’t show that it will suffer irreparable harm if the injunction is allowed to remain in place, while state residents would suffer and state governments have lost tax revenue as a result of the executive order, Purcell said.
But Judge Clifton was skeptical on the state’s argument, wondering how many people in Washington would be harmed by the executive order. “I suspect it is a small fraction,” he said. Clifton also wondered about whether the injunction could be limited to people who were in the US or would have a connection to the US. All three judges pressed Flentje, the DOJ lawyer, on whether the President could simply say “we’re not going to let in any Muslims”. They asked: “Could he do that?” and “Would anyone be able to challenge that?” Flentje repeatedly argued, “That’s not the order.”
But Clifton continued to press, saying, “We’d like to get to an answer of that question.” Eventually, Flentje capitulated and said a US citizen with a connection to someone seeking entry might be able to challenge. Purcell argued: “You don’t have to prove it harms every Muslim — you just need to show the action was motivated in part by animus.” “There’s rather shocking evidence of intent to discriminate (in this case),” he added — alluding to statements from Trump himself.
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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