Amendment status not verified — confirm the current text below against the official source.
In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant to the subject or the context otherwise requires: - (a) Act means the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming.Act, 2021. (b) Adjudicating Officer means the Commissioner of Tax or any other Officer authorized by the State Government under this Act to adjudicate offences under this Act; (c) Appellate Authority means the State Government or such authority notified by the Government; (d) Authorized Officer means any person or persons not below the rank of Joint Commissioner of Taxes authorized by the State Government for the purpose of the Act; (e) Bet means any money or a valuable security or a thing staked by a person on behalf of himself or through an agent or any person procured or employed, acting for or on his behalf, to be lost or won on the happening or determination of an unascertained thing, event or contingency of or in relation to a game or sport and shall include acceptance of a bet; (f) Commission means the Meghalaya Gaming Commission constituted under this Act; (g) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Taxes; (h) Company means a body corporate, and includes firm or other association of individuals duly constituted and registered under the provisions of the Companies Act 1956 or the Companies Act, 2013; (i) Competition shall mean an event in which individuals or teams contest on the basis of their skills and ability; (j) Games of Chance mean all such games where there is a preponderance of chance over skill. Explanation: Without prejudice to the generality ot the above provision, all Games provided in Schedule A of this Act shall fall under the category of Games of Chance. (k) Games of Skill mean all such games where there is preponderance of skill over chance, including where the skill relates to strategizing the manner of placing wagers or placing bets or where the skill lies in team selection or selection of virtual stocks based on analyses or where the skill relates to the manner in which the moves are made, whether through deployment of physical or mental skill and acumen, where the success in game depends on the existence of superior knowledge, training, attention, experience and adroitness of a player. Explanation: For the purposes of this Act:- (i) Without prejudice to the generality of the above provision, all Games provided in Schedule B of this Act shall fall under the category of Games of Skill. (ii) Games which have been declared to be 'Games of Skill' by law or judicial decisions, games where there are domestic and international competitions and tournaments, or games which can be determined to be 'Games of Skill' shall be included in Schedule B. (iii) Games of Skill may be (a) Card based and (b) action or virtual sports or adventure or mystery and (c) Calculation, strategy or quiz based. (iv) This Act seeks to regulate only those Games of Skills involving betting or wagering of money or money's worth. (l) Gaming means and includes Games of Chance and Games of Skill as defined in this Act. (m) Gaming Royalty means such percentage sum of money of Gross Gaming Revenue, as notified by the Government from time to time. (n) Government means the State Government of Meghalaya; (o) Gross Gaming Revenue means a sum of total amount of all bets made and the revenue generated from advertising, marketing and promotion as permitted under this Act; less value of all winnings and prizes, bonuses and discounts and cash backs, as well as the payment gateway and banking charges in the course of the Gaming during the period as may be prescribed; (p) Instruments of Gaming means and includes any article, electronic apparatus, computer, instrument, server or machine with their accessories used or intended to be used as a subject, and accessory or means of gaming, any document used or intended to be used as a register or record or evidence of gaming, the proceeds of any gaming, and any winnings or prizes in money or otherwise distributed or intended to be distributed in respect of any gaming; (q) License means permission granted by the State Government in writing under the provisions of the Act for the purpose of running Gaming. including its organization, management or promotion and negotiation or receipt of bets; (r) Licensee means any person, company or firm who has been granted a License to install and operate Gaming including installing and maintaining a server; (s) Licensing Authority means the State Government; (t) Match play shall mean any game played between two or more players or between a player and the computer. (u) Online Gaming means any gaming, where any player enters or may enter the game or takes or may take any step in the game or acquires or may acquire, by means of a telecommunication device or an electronic machine or instrument or apparatus, including the negotiating or receiving of any bet by means of a telecommunication device for money or money's worth which may also be held through non-restricted geo-fenced internet or at a physical premises; (v) Online Gaming Server means any main frame computer or set of computers, installed or maintained by the Licensee, at a central location or any location in the State of Meghalaya that accepts, processes, stores and validates wager or transaction and otherwise manages, monitors and controls the entire system; (w) Online Gaming Website means the nonrestricted geo-fenced internet domain registration or URL address of the Licensee through which Games are conducted; (x) Peer to Peer Challenge shall mean a game which is played only between two or more players, where one player issues a challenge to another player specifically or in general, and another player accepts the challenge on the terms proposed; (y) Penalty means a fine imposed by the Adjudicating Officer under this Act for any offence committed under this Act including, but not limited to, the breach or contravention of any of the provisions of this Act, the ru les made hereunder and the conditions of the License; (z) prescribed means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (aa) Public Place includes a place to which the public is permitted to have access, including any access to non-restricted geo-fenced internet, whether on payment or otherwise; (bb) Security Deposit means any sum of money as may be prescribed to be deposited before the issuance of any License or permit; (cc) Sports Gaming means games involving the prediction of the results of sporting events and placing a bet on the outcome, in part or in whole, of such sporting event; (dd) State means the State of Meghalaya; (ee) Tournament shall mean a contest in a game among a number of competitors; (ff) Wagering or Betting shall mean the staking of money or virtual currency, if permitted by law and payment of which is made via cash, cheque, bank transfers, credit and debit cards, e-wallets, mobile payments including near field communication (NFC);