Feature
Hillary Clinton says ‘I’m sorry’ at last
Washington: Just a day after declining to apologise for using a private email server as secretary of state, Hillary Clinton abruptly shifted her tone to say sorry as her poll numbers sank to a new low.
“That was a mistake,” the Democratic presidential frontrunner said in an interview with ABC News Tuesday hoping to put an end to the controversy that has dogged her campaign and pulled down her favourability among Democrats by ten points in a month.
“I’m sorry about that. I take responsibility,” Clinton said acknowledging that she should have used separate accounts for work and personal business. “I take responsibility and I am trying to be as transparent as I possibly can.”
Clinton later issued a slightly different apology saying she was “sorry that it has raised all these questions.”
The abrupt shift in Clinton’s tone came just a day after she told AP on Monday in Iowa that she doesn’t need to apologise for her nagging email controversy because “what I did was allowed.”
Clinton defended her practices again on ABC, saying that everyone she emailed in the White House and Obama administration knew she used a private account.
She also disputed that she ever traded information over email that was marked classified at the time.
David Axelrod, a former top campaign adviser to President Barack Obama, told Tuesday that Clinton’s evolving answers on the subject have been costly.
“Her answers have evolved over time and have prolonged this story,” said Axelrod
“She’s trying to bring this thing to an end so she can be heard on other subjects, but she needs a consistent answer.”
Clinton got choked up at one point, when speaking of her late mother and how hard it is to campaign “24/7.”
“It’s something that just demands everything-physically, emotionally, spiritually,” she said. “I can have a perfectly fine life not being president.”
Clinton also offered praise for potential rival Vice President Joe Biden, who is mulling a 2016 presidential bid. “I think he could be a good president, there’s no doubt about that,” she said.
The change in Clinton’s tone on the email controversy came as she hit a new low in the polls – not due to her self-proclaimed socialist rival senator Bernie Sanders, but Biden.
While, Sanders is giving Clinton a run for her money in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two nominating states, a new national Monmouth University Poll shows Biden’s support rising among Democrats.
Clinton currently has the support of 42 percent of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters nationwide, which is down from 52 percent just one month ago.
Biden, at 22 percent, and Sanders, at 20 percent, are practically tied for second. That represents an increase of 10 points in Biden’s support since August and a four point rise for Sanders.
In addition to the 22 percent who currently back Biden for the nomination, another seven percent of Democrats say they would be very likely to consider voting for him if he does get into the race and another 34 percent would be somewhat likely.
“For a guy who is not running for president, Biden sure is making headway against the frontrunner,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
“There also seems to be an opening with the more liberal Sanders voters if Biden plays his cards right.”
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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