Under pressure, Mallya resigns from parliament
United Breweries Chairman Vijay Mallya has been notified by the Goa government that his company’s application to start an offshore casino on the River Mandovi has been denied.
According to the Times of India, which described Mallya as a “billionaire liquor baron,” he’s already in hot water due to non-payment of $1.4 billion in debts associated with the 2012 collapse of his Kingfisher Airlines. Last week, the tycoon resigned from India’s parliament, a day before the legislature planned to remove him.
In a resignation letter, Mallya said allegations by the upper house of parliament’s ethics committee are “blatantly false and baseless,” but he would resign anyway. “I don’t want my name and reputation to be further dragged in the mud,” he wrote, since “recent events suggest I will not get a fair trial or justice.”
Not surprisingly amid all the upheaval, his bid for a gaming license was turned down. The license would have been held by a subsidiary, UB Infrastructure Projects Ltd. The Times reported that Mallya has made 16 requests for the casino license over 10 years.
In addition, the Indian state government has decided that no more offshore casinos will be permitted in the state. It is currently trying—without much success—to oust four casino boats already operating on the Mandovi. The boats are run by the state’s only licensed offshore operators, M/s Delta Pleasure Cruise Company Pvt. Ltd. and MV Pride.
Mallya had promised he would “provide the best offshore casino” to draw international VIP tourists.
The state has missed several deadlines to relocate the existing boats. Though it identified four potential locations for the casinos—the River Chapora, Aguada Bay, and two sections in the River Zuari—those areas were “either not feasible for the casino operators or there was opposition from the locals,” said the chief minister.
At the same time, the state government is considering a land-based industry, saying there is apparently less opposition to casinos on the mainland.
