Gaming licences will cost Rs 2 crore and the Meghalaya government is hopeful that this avenue will bring in much-needed funds into the state exchequer.
Gaming in this context refers to gambling, i.e., a game of skill or game of chance, including betting or wagering of money.
The cabinet today passed a proposal to notify the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules 2021 in order to operationalise the act, which will enable the Excise Department to tap the revenue potential of both online and physical gaming and regulate it within the state.
Briefing the media after the meeting, cabinet minister James Sangma informed that Meghalaya has looked at the success of Sikkim and Goa in this field and is keen to exploit the potential for gambling in this state as well, especially among the tourists who visit Meghalaya.
Besides the Rs 2 crore annual licence, operators will also pay a percentage of the gross gaming revenue to the government.
Other matters approved by the cabinet included the draft proposal to amend the Meghalaya Compulsory Registration of Marriage Act 2012 regarding the ‘official purposes’ of pension, succession and maintenance for which marriage certificates had been required.
Other matters discussed included the proposed list of holidays for 2022-2023, approval for the proposal for the introduction of E-Court Fees Rules in Meghalaya to raise the level of e-payment of court fees and to enable the purchaser to generate the E-Court Fee Certificate online.
The cabinet also passed the amendment to the Meghalaya Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme 2005 regarding the formation of the Natural Resource Management Committee (NRMC) at the Village Employment Council (VEC) level. A proposal was made for the separate sub-committee to be formed and created at the VEC level which will specifically look after natural resource management and all related matters at the VEC level as an added support.
The NRMC has been one of the focal points under the MGNREGA and the ministry of rural development has placed emphasis on the need to increase expenditure on natural resource management and related activities through MGNREGA.
Sangma informed that to date the performance is still not satisfactory and the state has not crossed 60 percent expenditure in any financial year. Out of the 262 permissible works under MGNREGA, there are 181 that are related to NRM. This implies that almost 70 percent of the permissible works are NRM-related but the focus of the VECs has always been on rural connectivity, roads, footpaths, he rued.
