A ban will soon be implemented that prohibits residents of Goa from entering casinos in the Indian state. On August 7, Goan Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the legislative assembly, “Casinos are for tourists. Some come to Goa only to play in the casinos. Goans should not go to casinos.”
He did not announce a date for the new ban. “Give me some time. Let’s together finalize a date,” Sawant said.
According to the Hindustan Times, the ruling came after legislators both from the ruling Bharatiya Janati Party and the opposition alleged that casinos are ruining local families.
“I know many Goan businessmen and builders who have become addicted to gambling because of this. I assure you that if you ban locals from casinos, the business of the casinos will go down by 50 percent. In Macau, no locals are allowed in casinos,” said Atanasio Monserrate, who represents the state capital of Panaji, where Goa’s six offshore casinos are anchored.
During his recent campaign, Monserrate promised to remove the casinos from the Mandovi River within 100 days of being elected.
Opposition legislator Churchill Alemão said Goa’s casino boats have low return-to-player ratios that are tantamount to cheating their customers. “Real casino players will go to Macau or Singapore where they make better winnings,” Alemão said.
Sawant’s promise is the latest in a long list of promises made by successive chief ministers to ban locals from casinos, reported the Times. In August 2018, then chief minister Manohar Parrikar promised that only tourists would be allowed in Goa’s casinos starting in January.
“As a policy Goans will not be permitted to enter the casino’s playing areas and only visiting tourists shall be permitted,” Parrikar said last year. “A mechanism in this regard will be put in place once the gaming commissioner is appointed and appropriate rules for regulation shall be formulated.”
But, as with numerous promises by the government to relocate the boats off the Mandovi, nothing came of it and no gaming commissioner was appointed. Another former chief minister, Digambar Kamat, also promised a similar ban.
According to NDTV.com, the chief minister said the state government had earned Rs. 411 crore (US$57.7 million) in revenue from onshore and offshore casinos in the financial year 2018-19.
