Shillong, Oct 13: Bowing under pressure, the Meghalaya Government has decided to repeal the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and thus put an end to the government's plan to open casinos in the state.
"It will be my earnest endeavour to see that the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021, will be repealed," Minister in-charge law, James Sangma said.
Ever since the state government passed the act, there has been an uproar from church leaders and NGOs to put on hold its plan to open casinos in the state. They have opposed the plan citing that gambling would lead to immoral acts in the state.
The state government has made it abundantly clear that Meghalaya residents would be barred entry into such casinos and these would be opened only for tourists and the state stands to gain huge revenue out of it.
Incidentally, gambling in the form of Teer is legal in the state and there are hundreds of Teer counters in the state. Not just providing employment to thousands of people, many place bets in this form of gambling every day and the state collects huge revenue out of taxes for this form of gambling.
Explaining the government's intention, Sangma said, last year with the "aim of boosting tourism and generating revenue and employment" for the people of the State, the Department of Taxation introduced the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021.
"Over the months that followed, there were concerns expressed from parts of the society with regards to the scope and impact of the act. Following such meetings and deliberations, it became clear to me that it is in the best interest of our state to completely scrap the act, given that there could be untoward implications," Sangma added.