Delta Corp Chairman Jaydev Mody Optimistic on New Casino Policy in Goa

Goa’s casino industry has been under a cloud of doubt and uncertainty over the past few months, waiting for the new casino policy to be tabled by the state government. While the policy has not found favour among many, Chairman and owner of Delta Corp, Jaydev Mody (cover image) feels the policy will benefit the state’s casinos in the long run.

“It would make sense politically because the chief minister has been asked by the people to get the ships moving out of the Mandovi. He thought the best thing would be to keep it close to the new airport, so that the rest of the state does not get affected. The travel time is less, there is no traffic in the river and all the allegations on so many other aspects of being in the river goes away. It is a win-win for everybody, for the government, for the people and for the industry. It makes a lot of sense,” Mody said in a recent statement made to the Economic Times.

Mody shared his views on the current scenario of the Goan casino industry and his views on the new casino policy.

When asked about his views on the political aspects surrounding the Indian gaming industry and the regulatory obstacles imposed on it, Mody said, “In Goa, it has become part of the economy now. Goa does not have a lot of taxation or revenue coming in from anything else other than tourism and casinos. They have realised that ours is a business, the gambling part is for the customer. We are running a business. It is a numbers game. We have an assured 4-5% margin and that is what we operate on and we run it like a business. It is not gambling for us.”

Back in August, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had made a statement on the floor of the legislative assembly announcing that offshore casinos in the state will be shifted to a designated gaming zone within a period of four years.

Additionally, Parrikar also stated that licenses will be given for a period of 10-15 years and only tourists will be allowed to visit casinos. He further stated that a Gaming Commissioner to regulate casinos would be appointed to regulate and oversee casino activities in the state.

Towards the end of September, the casino industry received some respite when the state government granted an extension of six months to casinos operating on the Mandovi River. But with the drafting of a new casino policy still ongoing, the future of the industry is still unclear.

Despite the dark clouds surrounding the casino industry in Goa, Delta Corp that runs four casinos in the state, namely Deltin Royale, Deltin JAQK, Deltin Caravela and Deltin Suites, posted a 39% growth in revenue for the fiscal Q2 which ended on September 30. The ramifications of the increase in casino license fee by the Goa government may have been adverse for a number of offshore casinos operational in Goa, but for the Delta Corp, it has been just the opposite.

The company which is India’s only BSE listed company engaged in the casino industry, continues to post an energetic growth and Mody has extensive plans for Delta Corp. in the future. “We will have multi location casinos in Goa, Daman, Sri Lanka and maybe in Sikkim, in Kathmandu. The game changer of course, like you said maybe the casino policy. If that is in line with what we hope it will be, then opportunities will keep coming,” he explained.

With online gaming booming in the country, online poker has created a comfortable space for itself and Delta Corp run Adda52 have been on the forefront of this progress.

“In the poker business, which is our adda52 brand, we are the leaders. The next competitor would be 20% of our size. So, we do not find too much going on there in terms of competition, but we have two other businesses — adda52rummy and the Fantasy business — where we have started off and have start-ups and are fighting to get market share. It is a very tough business,” added Mody.

Watch the interview here: