Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma on Thursday announced that provisional licenses under the Meghalaya Gaming Regulation were issued to three gaming operators. The Chief Minister was speaking at the inaugural address of the AIGF Knowledge Series. 

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The state of Meghalaya has recently enacted the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 whereby it now permits operators to obtain a licence to offer online and land-based games of chance such as slots, roulette, keno, wheel of fortune, etc. within the state. The law was notified in December 2021.

The law made Meghalaya the third state from the northeast to enact an enabling gaming regulation in recent times. Sikkim and Nagaland are the other two northeast states that have enacted laws to regulate gaming.

The Rules framed impose a prohibition on the entry of locals into the physical gaming premises. This prohibition is similar to what the Goa government proposed and was subsequently upheld by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court in October.

Coming to online games, they can be played through intranet (terminals) which cannot traverse outside the State of Meghalaya. This is similar to the system currently offered in Sikkim. Only persons above 18 are allowed to play and operators cannot accept any payment above INR 25,000 in cash.

The enactment requires gaming entities to obtain a license which shall be issued only to an Indian citizen or a legal entity incorporated in India. An operator is required to set up an office in Meghalaya within 30 days from the date of issue of license.