86 percent of legal tender now banned
A fleet of casinos boats off the Indian state of Goa is reeling in the wake of nationwide demonetization, which went into effect without warning on November 8. Prime Minister Narenda Modi pulled smaller currency banknotes from circulation, including all 500-rupee and 1,000-rupee bills, in an attempt to curb corruption and terrorism.
Modi said forcing people to exchange larger bills for new banknotes would enable the government to track “black money,” or untaxed cash. He said it would help the government battle terrorism and also fight the counterfeit trade, according to Vox.com. The website reported that 86 percent of all the cash in circulation in India is no longer considered legal tender.
That’s hurting the casino business, reports the Times of India, and some have been forced to shut down temporarily. “The business has been low ever since the announcement was made and has not improved,” a casino employee said. “As the crux of the operations is based on exchange of currency in cash, there are not many customers now. Also, there is a short of 100 notes and even if one has a 2,000 note, we are facing a problem in giving change.”
Casino Pride, which operates offshore casinos in the state of Goa, confirmed it has shut down operations temporarily because business was so slow.
The state’s 11 casinos bring in one-third of Goa’s total entertainment tax, the Times reported. As per the records shared by the commissioner of commercial taxes, casinos generated 127 crores for the financial year 2015-16. A sure increase has also been projected as the prices of the entry tickets were also revised this year, increasing from 700 to 1,000.
