Critics: Casinos defrauded government
In advance of state elections next month, the Goa Pradesh Congress Party has released a manifesto pledging to shut down all casinos in the coastal Indian region, including six casino cruisers and 12 land-based gaming clubs.
“Floating casinos in Goa’s river will be closed permanently,” said the manifesto released last week by Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia in Panaji.
“Those on the shore too will be closed at a later stage,” Goa Congress Chief Luizinho Faleiro later told reporters. He said the closures should have no measurable effect on local employment. “I don’t think that there are much Goans working at these casinos.”
Congress has faced off with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which also promised to shut down casinos during its 2012 campaign. After BJP took power, however, it said the loss of revenue from a ban on mining precluded the closure of casinos.
The Goa Suraksha Manch Party also has promised to shut down casinos if it is voted to power and promote tourism as an alternate to casinos to bring people to the region. “We will try to promote proper tourism through which the government will generate revenue,” said GSM General Secretary, Hridaynath Shirodkar. Each of the competing parties says it is opposed to casinos because they “degenerate Goan culture,” reported NDTV.com.
According to CalvinAyre.com, Faleiro has pledged to shut down the offshore casinos first, followed by land-based operations. Members of Congress and Indian political parties have accused local casino operators of cheating the state government out of INR45,000 crore (US$6.62 billion) in tax revenues.
Casino critics also say gaming is the gateway to crimes such as money laundering, drugs and prostitution.
