Casinos Have Made Goa ‘Sin City’ Claims Congress

The Casino-situation in Goa has just gotten uglier with the opposition party, Congress alleging that these have turned the beach-paradise into “Sin City.” According to a report from NDTV.com, Luizinho Faleiro, President, State Congress spoke out to the press at the party’s State Executive Committee meeting in Panaji. The meeting passed a resolution to have a debate on the casino-issue and whether to use the complete eradication of casinos from Goa, as one of its main pre-election manifesto, in its 2017 assembly election campaign.

Post the meeting, Faleiro told the press that all succeeding governments, including his own had led the state into becoming a gambling hub. Faleiro further added that succeeding governments, including his own had encouraged casino-culture, expecting it to promote tourism, but the move had backfired.

“Casinos have now turned Goa into sin city, a place of vice. The casinos have ruined Goa’s reputation,” Faleiro explained. It was declared that the party would meet again after two weeks to take a final decision on the casino issue.

As a leading tourist destination, with its verdant beaches and nightlife, Goa attracts a constant stream of tourists. However, as the figures, the State earns its maximum revenue from casinos alone, with 2010 to 2013 providing the exchequer Rs 1.89 billion only from this industry.

Faleiro admitted this, but went on to say that “Shutting down casinos will affect the government revenue in the short term but this ill-gotten wealth has a big price attached to it in the form of social decay and disruption of Goa’s image.”

The anti-casino refrain from the Congress, is just a repetition of the 2012 Election Manifesto by the BJP, which had also promised to rid Goa of the casino culture. The Congress is now accusing the BJP of reneging on its promise of phasing out casinos in Goa, as three years have passed.

“It has been three years now, what happened to BJP’s promise? If the BJP wants help to do away with casinos from Goa, the Congress is willing to help it now,” Faleiro concluded.

However, ground realities of tax revenues, local employment-generation and tourist influx from casinos cannot be denied and it is now to be seen, if the Congress and many opposing NGOs and locals prefer a myopic view of the situation, or are able to find a middle path that allows for mutual gain and growth.