Meghalaya Officially Takes Down Act that Allowed Commercial Gambling

Shillong: Meghalaya passed the controversial Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act (MRGA) last year to promote tourism. But it soon faced severe opposition and the government was forced to announce its cancellation. Making last month's decision official, the state government passed an ordinance on Wednesday to scrap the act.

Tourism is one of the primary sources of income for the Northeast Indian state of Meghalaya. In a bid to make it one of the most favourite tourist destinations in the country, the state government under the leadership of Conrad Sangma took several key decisions. One of them was to allow commercial gambling in the state to attract high-value spending tourists to the state and passed the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act of 2021.

Following this, the competent departments issued the necessary licenses to enable the setting up of three state-of-the-art casinos in the state. Soon after the permissions were released, several organizations protested against the step which spread throughout the state. Several of the unions and even the clergy protested this step.

Following the widespread protests and agitations regarding permissions, the state government decided to take down the legislation last month. An ordinance to repel the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act of 2021 was taken in a high-level state cabinet meeting on November 9. The meeting took place in Shillong.

As a part of tourism development, two major hospitality brands announced the setting up of Five-Star hotels in the capital city of Shillong in recent times. These will be the first five-star hotels in the entire state of Meghalaya. Not only will they encourage more tourist inflow, they will also provide huge employment generation options, especially in the hospitality sector.

The aim to establish casinos was a step ahead in this same direction. It was a measure to boost the revenue collection as well as training and employment of the youth of the state in these mega projects.

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