Feature
ACB quizzes TDP MLA in cash-for-vote scam
Hyderabad: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Telangana on Saturday began interrogating Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLA A. Revanth Reddy and two others in cash-for-vote scam.
ACB sleuths took custody of the legislator and his two aides Sebastian Harry and Uday Simha from Cherlapally Jail.
While Revanth Reddy was taken to an undisclosed location for questioning, two others were brought to ACB headquarters.
The MLA’s lawyers staged a protest at ACB office, demanding information about his whereabouts. Pramod Reddy, one of the lawyers, alleged that ACB’s action was violation of court orders.
A city court on Friday had sent the accused to ACB custody for four days. The court directed the agency to question them in the presence of their lawyers between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Revanth Reddy, a member of Telangana legislative assembly, was arrested by the ACB when he was handing over Rs.50 lakh to nominated MLA Elvis Stephenson on May 31 to make him vote for TDP-BJP candidate in Telangana legislative council elections. The ACB, which had laid the trap on a complaint by Stephenson, also arrested two aides of the TDP leader.
A magistrate on June 1 sent the accused to judicial custody for 14 days.
The ACB is trying to elicit information from Revanth about the source of money and also about remaining Rs.4.5 crore he had promised as part of Rs.5 crore deal. He is also likely to be questioned about the complicity of other political leaders he mentioned during the conversation with the nominated MLA.
The questioning assumed significance in the light of a statement by Telangana Home Minister N. Narasimha Reddy that there is a proof that TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu spoke to the nominated MLA and some other legislators of Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) over phone.
TRS leaders have alleged that Naidu is the mastermind in the scam and demanded that he be made the prime accused in the case.
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, accompanied by ACB Director General A. K. Khan on Friday called on Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, triggering speculations about the state government’s plan to seek Naidu’s prosecution.
Narasimhan is the governor for both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
The TDP government of Andhra Pradesh has hit back with Deputy Chief Minister N. Chinnarajappa daring TRS government to book Naidu and make the recording of telephone conversation public. He also said they would complaint to the central government about phone tapping of Naidu and other TDP leaders.
Naidu has also stated that he will not be cowed down by the attempts of TRS to defame him.
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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