A year left for offshore gaming on Mandovi
The government of the Indian state of Goa, which has promised to move four offshore casino vessels out of the River Mandovi, is not considering adding a fifth boat to the channel, according to the poker website Gutshot.com.
The Times of India and the Herald Goa both reported that residents in towns along the river were “threatening agitation against (the) new casino,” saying it would interfere with the local fishing industry that is their livelihood. Penha de Franca’s Sarpanch Radhika Sawant said, “We have passed a resolution at a specially called meeting to object the entry and operation of a new casino within our jurisdiction.”
United Breweries Chairman Vijay Mallya recently entered a bid to introduce a new offshore gambling boat, but that effort went down in defeat.
The state government has promised to move the four existing offshore casino vessels out of the river within a year. But it originally pledged to find a new home for them by the end of 2015, and then again at the end of March 2016. And BJP Goa Unit Chief Vinay Tendulkar has said relocating the fleet—the MV Horseshoe, the MV Pride of Goa, the MV Boa Sorte and the MV Casino Royale—would be counterproductive and possibly “damage investor’s confidence in the government,” according to India Today.
In April, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar announced the deadline for relocating the casino cruises would be postponed “until suitable alternative sites are finalized.” India has identified three possible locations for the casino cruise ships to dock: the Chapora River, Aguada Bay in North Goa, and the Zuari River in South Goa.
