Feature
Senior minister sacked after porn allegations
London : Damian Green, one of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s closest allies, was sacked as the first secretary of state after admitting that he lied about the presence of pornographic images on his House of Commons computer, the media reported.
An investigation by Cabinet Secretary Jeremy Heywood found that Green’s vehement denials after a Sunday daily reported that porn had been found on his computer were “inaccurate and misleading”, the Guardian reported.
His departure on Wednesday night was a personal blow for May, who brought him into Downing Street after her majority was wiped out in June’s general election to help shore up her authority.
Green, 61, is the third cabinet minister to step aside since early November, following the departures of former Secretary of State for Defence Michael Fallon and former Secretary of State for International Development Priti Patel.
In his resignation letter, Green continued to maintain that he did not “download or view” the pornography, but added that he “should have been clear in my press statements”, that his lawyers were informed about its presence in 2008 – and that he discussed it with the police in 2013.
He also apologised for making writer Kate Maltby feel uncomfortable in 2015.
Heywood found Green had twice breached the ministerial code, because his misleading comments had fallen short of the “seven principles of public life”, one of which is honesty.
In a letter responding to his resignation, May said she was “extremely sad” about losing Green from government, reports the Guardian.
She said it was “with deep regret and enduring gratitude for the contribution you have made over many years that I asked you to resign from the government and have accepted your resignation”.
May was handed Heywood’s report on Monday, and subsequently sought a second opinion from Alex Allan, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests.
May, who has known Green since they were contemporaries at Oxford, brought him into the cabinet after she became Prime Minister in 2016 and promoted him to first secretary of state in July, the BBC reported.
Since then, he has played a substantial role behind the scenes chairing key cabinet committees and has also deputised for May at Prime Minister’s Questions.
It is not clear who will replace him in those roles but unconfirmed reports have suggested there will be no announcement until the New Year, with Parliament due to go on recess on Thursday.
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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