Seasoned lawyer Erwin K Sutnga fears that the arrival of casinos would turn Meghalaya into a money laundering hub.
Besides the danger that gambling could lead to addiction and terrible financial losses in individuals, Sutnga told Highland Post that one of the biggest problems of casinos is that they are used by organised criminals to launder ill-gotten wealth.
“There are many unknown factors when it comes to casinos and we have seen what happens in a state like Goa or in Macau. So, will we allow our state to become a money laundering state?” he said while wondering if this is what the state government had in mind all along when it introduced its plan to create casinos.
Meghalaya is already driven by corruption and scams and the situation would worsen with the arrival of casinos, Sutnga opined.
“We have seen gambling destinations in other state has also brought rampant social evils like drug abuse, alcohol, prostitution,” he added, while expressing a fear that education will suffer if the youth are drawn to gambling.
“This government is saying that it will not allow locals to gamble in the casinos but I will leave it to their imagination about the locals who will be working there. And what if a new government [decides] that locals are allowed to play?” he queried.
