Despite opposition from various quarters to the move by his government to legalise gambling in the State, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has ruled out repeal of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021.
According to him, doing away with the gaming law would incur loss of government revenue to the tune of around Rs 10 crore.
Speaking to media persons yesterday, Sangma said that Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 is needed to regulate the existing gambling parlours, which have been running for the past 25 years in the State.
“If the act is repealed, then there would be nothing to regulate gaming,” Sangma said.
He also said that jackpot and online gaming parlours have been active in the State for many years and are not paying tax to the government.
“Since we are a revenue deficit State, we need revenue. Though we are getting a share of taxes from the central government, we have to broaden our areas of tax collection avenues. We would face a huge problem in future if we do not increase our revenue,” Sangma said.
Earlier, the State government has come up with the Gaming Rules 2021 will facilitate issuing of licenses to operators to conduct games of skill and chance both in online and offline version.
The State government is making big plans to bring casino and online gambling and gaming for tourists to rake in the much needed revenues in the State.
Recently, Taxation Minister James Sangma had said that the State government is considering introducing casinos and online gambling only for tourists coming to the State to generate revenues.
He had also said that no residents of Meghalaya would be allowed to participate in the proposed legalised gambling and online betting.
Political parties, church and other organisations have opposed the government’s move to legalise gambling and online betting in the State.
