Feature
Dhoni sole Indian among Forbes’ world’s highest-paid athletes
Washington: With earnings of $31 million, ace Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the only Indian to feature in Forbes magazine’s 2015 list of the world’s highest-paid athletes.
Dhoni, who retired from Test cricket at the end of 2014, ceding his Indian national team captainship to fellow star Virat Kohli, is ranked 23rd on the list, one notch below his 2014 ranking.
The list is topped by boxer Floyd Mayweather with earnings of $300 million, more than double the previous high for an athlete.
This is the third time in four years that Mayweather has ranked as the world’s highest-paid athlete.
Golfer Tiger Woods, who is ranked ninth, down from sixth in 2014, with earnings of $50.6 million was the highest-paid in the 12 other years since 2001.
The 33-year-old Indian cricketer, who remains India’s captain at the ODI and T20 levels, led India to the semifinal round of cricket’s 2015 World Cup before suffering a loss to eventual champions Australia.
In May, the Chennai Super Kings went to the IPL Finals for the sixth time in Dhoni’s eight years as team captain.
He is co-producing “M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story”, an upcoming biopic that has been fraught with delays but has already funneled some $3 million into the Indian star’s pockets.
The 100 highest-paid athletes made $3.2 billion in total over the last 12 months, up 17 percent from the prior year.
The entry point jumped to $18.8 million from $17.3 million. The top 100 includes athletes from 10 sports. Baseball is the most prevalent with 27 players making the cut.
Top 10 athletes:
1.Floyd Mayweather, US, Boxing = $300 mn
2.Manny Pacquiao, Philippines, Boxing = $160 mn
3.Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Football = $79.6 mn
4.Lionel Messi, Argentina, Football = $73.8mn
5.Roger Federer, Switzerland, Tennis = $67mn
6.LeBron James, US, Basketball = $64.8 mn
7.Kevin Durant, US, Basketball = $54.1 mn
8.Phil Mickelson, US, Golf = $50.8 mn
9.Tiger Woods, US, Golf = $50.6 mn
10.Kobe Bryant, US, Basketball = $49.5 mn
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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