Team Herald
In an unexpected move on the Floor of the House, BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh on Tuesday demanded that the matka gaming be legalized in line with the casino gambling.
“Government gives permission to the casinos for gambling, so why action is being taken against matka players? These are small, road side gambling kiosks involving small amounts. Government needs to legalize it as it can play an important role in helping poor people,” Wagh said surprising the legislative members.
It was MGP MLA Lavoo Mamledar who had tabled the question on the total number of cases booked under the Gambling Act since April, 2012. As per the information produced by Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, there is a constant rise in number of matka gambling cases booked with a total of 2027 cases booked in the last three years (up to July 30).
In 2012, a total of 201 cases were booked, in 2013 the number went up by 487 cases with a further rise in 2014 wherein 500 cases were booked. In the first seven months of 2015, a total of 639 cases have been booked.
On the other hand, 108 cases of other gambling offences were booked in the last three years. Over the years, there is no marginal rise in these cases.
