SHILLONG, March 14: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has detected several deficiencies in the implementation of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Games of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets (MRGAS&STT) Act, 2018.
Teer – a unique lottery tradition of the state – is based on arrow shooting. Winners receive 80 times their betting amount. The state government enacted the MRGAS&STT Act and corresponding rules to regulate the game and ticket sales.
The CAG examined the implementation of the Act during the period from July 1, 2017 to March 31, 2022 and detected several deficiencies.
It noticed that the inaction of the ERTS Department to levy penalty for delayed submission of applications for renewal of licences by 65 bookmakers and two organisers resulted in non-levy of penalty amounting to Rs 24.95 lakh.
A Joint Physical Verification (JPV) revealed the sale of Teer tickets on the back page of the printed Teer books by all test-checked bookmakers. The department acknowledged the issue but failed to rectify it, indicating poor monitoring against unauthorised Teer ticket sales.
From March 2019 to March 2022, a total of 1,375 Teer books were issued to 101 bookmakers who did not have a valid licence. This not only violated the MRGAS&STT Act, 2018, but also indicated large scale prevalence of unauthorised bookmakers in the jurisdiction of the sampled SST offices.
Section 6(1) of the MEGAS&STT Act, 2018 (amended 2019) mandates Teer counters to be at least 100 metres away from places of worship or educational institutions. In a JPV of 42 Teer counters across six ST jurisdictions, 31 were found operating in prohibited areas.
The CAG also observed 250 cases of illegal sale of Teer tickets during inspections in the jurisdiction of the eight selected ST offices. No record was found to indicate action being initiated to levy penalty from unauthorised bookmakers which resulted in non-realisation of penalty amounting to Rs 12.50 lakh.
The CAG recommended the department may ensure that only Teer tickets as per the prescribed format are sold by the bookmakers. The minimum sale price must be clearly displayed on the front of the ticket, with space provided to indicate the bet value.
Additionally, tickets should include a QR code or barcode to enhance the system’s efficiency, promote transparency and security, benefiting both operators and customers.
The CAG also recommended that the licence renewal process for eligible bookmakers may be expedited, ensuring compliance to the Act. Responsibility may also be fixed on officers who issued Teer books to unauthorised bookmakers.
The operations of unauthorised organisers may be stopped by enforcement of applicable penal provisions of the MRGAS&STT Act, 2018 and responsibility may be fixed on the responsible officers who failed to stop illegal operation of Teer organizers.
Further, the CAG recommended that the department relocate all counters operating within 100 meters of educational institutions and places of worship.
