Union Gaming: Potential $1B market
On August 10, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar announced that offshore casinos in the Indian state will be shifted to a designated gaming zone within four years.
According to local media, Parrikar said licenses will be granted for a period of up to 15 years and the casinos will be open to tourists only. A gaming commissioner will be appointed to regulate casino activities in the state.
Union Gaming called the announcement “transformational” for Delta Corp. Ltd., currently one of the Goa operators, reported GGRAsia. The brokerage cited the case of an Illinois riverboat casino that saw a 25 percent rise in gross gaming revenue in the year after it moved inland.
Union Gaming’s Grant Govertsen estimated Goa’s annual GGR at US$200 million, but added that the “true potential” of the state could not be realized without “quality supply” in terms of the properties themselves. Govertsen says industry GGR could exceed US$1 billion within a few years. And a 2016 report from Global Market Advisors said the market could be worth US$10 billion a year, again if it has the “right product.”
“We believe the introduction of high-quality integrated resort supply will firmly put India on the gaming map,” wrote Govertsen, eventually making it “one of the crown jewels of Asia.”
He added, “Importantly, the government intends to issue IR licenses only to those holding existing offshore licenses. Delta holds three of these licenses, while two are owned by another company and a sixth has never launched operations. In terms of developing its first IR, not only has Delta purchased a large site near the already-under-construction new airport, they’re also well under way in terms of master-planning the site with a world-renown gaming architect.”
Parrikar told lawmakers “As a policy, Goans will not be permitted to enter the casino playing areas. Only visiting tourists shall be permitted. A mechanism in this regard will be put in place once the gaming commissioner is appointed and appropriate rules for regulation shall be formulated.”
In recent years, the government of Goa has repeatedly stated its intention to relocate the state’s offshore casinos from the Mandovi River to another location, but has never followed through on its plans. Parrikar told the three offshore operators they will be issued with new casino licenses provided they agree to move.
