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West Indies took the last quarter-final spot in the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup

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indiesChittagong:The West Indies took the last quarter-final spot in the ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup with a thrilling, but controversial, two-run win over Zimbabwe here on Tuesday that gave them second place in Group C behind England.

Zimbabwe, chasing the West Indies’ 226/9, began the last over needing just three runs to win with one wicket in hand amid mounting tension. But West Indies seamer Keemo Paul whipped off the bails before sending down the first ball, catching non-striker Richard Ngarava out of his crease. The decision was referred to the TV umpire who declared Ngarava run-out.

The last wicket incident proved an anti-climax to what had been an absorbing do-or-die contest between two valiant teams attempting to nail a quarter-final berth. Zimbabwe, in their chase, were reduced to 147/6 following a four-wicket haul by fast bowler Alzaari Joseph, before Adam Keefe (43) and Wesley Madhevere (21) led a remarkable fightback by adding 62 runs for the seventh wicket.

Shamar Springer, who had top-scored with 61 for the West Indies, bacame his team’s hero with the ball also by dismissing both batsmen to finish with 2/16 in four overs.

The West Indies will take on the winner of Wednesday’s last league match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the fourth quarter-final in Fatullah on February 8 while Zimbabwe will play Canada in the Plate Championships quarter-final in Cox’s Bazar on February 5.

West Indies coach Graeme West admitted it was a tight match.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh topped Group A with an eight-wicket demolition of second-placed Namibia, ending the match in Cox’s Bazar in one session itself. Namibia were dismissed for 65 in 32.5 overs after being sent in to bat by Bangladesh with Saleh Ahmed, skipper Mehidy Hasan and Ariful Islam claiming two wickets each.

Bangladesh lost Pinak Ghosh in the first over, but an unbeaten 34 from Joyraz Sheik steered the hosts to an easy victory in the 16th over.

Bangladesh ended the league with three successive wins and will now play surprise qualifier Nepal in the first quarter-final in Mirpur on February 5 while another qualifier Namibia, who knocked-out defending champions South Africa, will take on India on Saturday in Fatullah for a place in the semi-finals.

South Africa finished third in the group after a 10-wicket rout of Scotland in Cox’s Bazar, the first win in the tournament for skipper Tony de Zorzi’s men.

Electing to field, South Africa bowled out Scotland for 127 with Dayyaan Galiem, Wiaan Mulder, Sean Whitehead and de Zorzi taking two wickets each. The South Africans raced to victory in 29 overs without losing a wicket as openers Kyle Verreynne and Liam Smith returned unbeaten with identical scores of 64 not out and in the same number of deliveries (87).

In the Plate Championship quarter-finals, South Africa will play Ireland on Thursday and on the same day, Scotland will meet New Zealand.

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Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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PureWin Online Betting

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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