Feature
Manohar Parrikar wins trust vote in Goa assembly
Panaji: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar today won the trust vote in the Goa assembly, with 22 MLAs supporting his government. The Congress got the support of 16 legislators.
Parrikar, whose BJP heads a coalition government with a slim majority, was sworn in as Chief Minister of the coastal state for the fourth time on Tuesday.
Parrikar, who is not a legislator and is a Rajya Sabha member, moved a one-line motion of confidence, after which pro-tem Speaker Sidharth Kunkolienkar asked those in favour of the motion to stand up.
The pro-tem Speaker overruled Opposition member Pratapsingh Rane’s efforts to raise a point of order related to the appointment of a junior member of the assembly as pro-tem Speaker.
The 22 MLAs who supported the motion those of the Bharatiya Janata Party (minus the pro-tem Speaker), three each of Goa Forward and MGP, three Independents and Nationalist Congress Party MLA Churchill Alemao.
Congress MLA Vishajit Rane, who over the last few days had been accusing the Congress leadership of squandering away chances of forming a government in the state, was not present during the voting.
Rane later told reporters outside the assembly complex that he was not happy with the functioning of the Congress and would be quitting it soon.
“I have been complaining about the functioning of the Congress. No one is paying attention. I will be quitting the party soon,” Rane said.
When Parrikar was asked to react to Rane going missing during the trust vote, he said: “Why are you asking me, ask him.”
The Congress has alleged that the BJP-led coalition government was legitimate.
“They have bought over MLAs. They have not allowed us to speak in the assembly or discuss the motion, they have even foisted a Speaker who formerly was reporting to Manohar Parrikar as Chief Minister in 2012.
“There is no legitimacy for this government,” Congress spokesperson and MLA Aleixo Reginaldo told media persons.
The former Defence Minsiter later told reporters that portfolios to the 10-member cabinet would be announced on Saturday.
“Expansion of the cabinet will be done after the budget session is over. The budget session will begin on March 22,” Parrikar said.
Thursday’s trust vote was ordered by the Supreme Court following a petition by the Congress which alleged that Goa Governor Mridula Sinha had played a partisan role in inviting the BJP to form a government although the Congress was the single largest party with 17 MLAs in the 40-member assembly.
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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