Goa Government on Wednesday decided against allowing any more offshore casinos in the coastal state and also formed a policy framework to ensure that existing casino vessels move out of Mandovi. Govt announces new fee structure for Goa’s casinos by Donna Amo Posted on 05 Nov, 2020. The green signal given to Goa’s casinos from 1 November was met with excitement for many who were waiting for them to restart. The decision was made by the state government to revive the state’s economy, a large part of which comes from these casinos.

The Casino Goa is a live casino^[1] located offshore in Panaji in Goa. The casino is located on a yacht, the M.V. Caravela, anchored in the River Mandovi. The casino vessel worth is 110 million Rupees and is owned by the Advani Pleasure Cruise Co Ltd as a joint venture between the company and Casinos Austria. It has around eleven tables of American Roulette, Blackjack and Paplu (Rummy) besides a few electronic slot machines.

The setup of the casino was controversial as live gambling is outlawed in India. This was partially circumvented by hosting it off the mainland. The government in Goa is promoting offshore casinos in Goa by granting new licences to more companies in an attempt to generate more tourist related revenue. Goa state is the only one in India that permits both electronic onland casinos as well as live offshore ones.

References[edit]

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1. ^Cox, Phill (15 June 2019). 'Live Casinos WorldWide'. Retrieved 1 July 2019.

• Deltin Royale: India's Largest and Most Luxurious Casino honored by World Records India , World Records India, March 8, 2016
• Deltin Royale: Casino lessons from India's largest offshore gaming and entertainment centre, The Economic Times, June 14, 2015
• Live casino comes to Goa, GoaNews, Sandesh Prabhudesai, 28 December 2000
• Politicians jumble facts on casino gamble, GoaNews, Sandesh Prabhudesai, 8 January 2001
• No more casinos in Goa, Goa News, Rupesh Samant, 29 December 2004
• Punters Ahoy, The Hindu, Hugh and Colleen Gantzer, Sunday, 7 Dec 2003

Coordinates: 15°29′56″N73°49′40″E / 15.4989°N 73.8278°E

Casinos in the Indian states of Goa and Sikkim are set to reopen this weekend, more than seven months after they were shut due to COVID-19.

On Wednesday, Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that the state’s casinos – both land-based and shipboard – had been given permission to reopen their doors on November 1. Like most of the world’s casinos, Goa’s gambling venues were ordered closed in mid-March to minimize further pandemic infection.

Sawant said the casinos would have to follow standard operating procedures issued by the Home Department, including a 50% limit of their normal guest capacity for an undetermined period.

Despite their operations having been shut for the past seven months, Sawant said the casinos were still collectively on the hook for over Rs2b (US$27.5m) in license fees for the period in question. These fees must be paid before the casinos can resume operations.

The Home Department reportedly sought to reduce these fees to avoid overburdening operators – who have fixed costs that the shutdown didn’t alleviate them from paying – but some of the cabinet’s more anti-gambling members objected. To counter this setback, Sawant said operators would be allowed to pay their license fees in monthly instalments rather than a lump sum covering the whole year.

The casino restart is part of an effort by the state to kickstart its tourism industry, which has taken a major hit following the pandemic lockdown. Goa currently has just over 2,400 active COVID-19 cases, down from 3,100 a week ago.

Goa’s announcement came one day after India’s largest casino operator Delta Corp – which operates three floating and one land-based casino in Goa – received clearance to reopen its Casino Delta Denzong in the state of Sikkim on November 1. Like Goa, Sikkim ordered its gambling venues to close in mid-March. Delta said its Sikkim casino would operate “in accordance with applicable safety norms,” but didn’t specify whether Sikkim’s limits were the same as Goa’s.

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With its land-based venues shuttered, Delta has been leaning on its online gambling operations to keep afloat, although online revenues are a fraction of those produced by its land-based business. Small wonder than that investors cheered the company’s imminent return to land-based action, pushing Delta’s shares up more than 6% by the close of Wednesday’s trading.

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Delta’s experience in Goa’s floating casino sector undoubtedly played a role in its decision last week to pay Rs155m (US$2.1m) for a 45% stake in Waterways Shipyard Pvt Ltd (WSPL). The ship-building business in Karnataka on India’s west coast has constructed over 60 vessels, including Delta’s own Casino Royale. The deal is expected to close by the end of December.