Feature
Vice president leaves on Brunei, Thailand visit
New Delhi:Vice President Hamid Ansari left on Monday for a five-day visit to Brunei and Thailand.
This will be the first visit by an Indian vice president to Brunei and the first in 50 years to Thailand.
During his visit to Brunei from February 1 to 3, he will meet the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah.
“Brunei has become an important partner and ally for India in the Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations),” Anil Wadhwa, secretary (east) in the external affairs ministry, told the media here ahead of the visit.
“Brunei has played a very important role as India-Asean coordinator from 2013 to 2015,” he added.
Brunei supported India’s stand on Jammu and Kashmir and its candidature for permanent membership of the UN Security Council.
The trade volume between India and Brunei is about $1 billion, most of which is made up of crude oil. Potential gas requirements can also be met from Brunei.
“Petroleum products as well as organic chemicals, metal ores and scraps are the other commodities that we import from Brunei,” Wadhwa said.
“Our main exports to Brunei consist of transportation equipment, meat and meat products and gems and jewellery.”
He said that during the visit, the issues that would come up for discussion are civil aviation, space, trade and investment, ICT and hydrocarbons.
Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed on health and defence cooperation, Wadhwa said.
Ansari will also address members of the Indian community.
There are over 10,000 Indian professionals in Brunei and, according to Wadhwa, there is a great deal there for them, particularly those who were working as teachers and doctors.
Ansari will then visit Thailand from February 3 to 5 at the official invitation of Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha.
Apart from holding a meeting with Prayut, Ansari will also have an audience with Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who is a scholar in Sanskrit, Wadhwa said.
Ansari will deliver a speech on India’s Look East and Act East policy at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and also address members of the Indian community.
India-Thailand trade now stands at around $8.66 billion.
Ansari will also briefly visit the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand.
“The relationship between India and Thailand has traditionally been very close,” said Wadhwa, adding that Thailand was an important partner in India’s strategic partnership with Asean.
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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