Goa Government Puts Casino Policy on the Backburner, Delays Notification of Rules in the Wake of COVID-19 Pandemic

Goa’s long-awaited casino policy and notification of its supporting legislation – the Goa Public Gambling Act (Amendment) 2012 – has been on tenterhooks for years. In a recent development, Chief Minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, has indicated that he will approve the notification only after conducting a careful review of the concerned rules once the COVID-19 situation improves.

All casinos in Goa are shut since March 15 owing to the pandemic, and Sawant has reportedly pushed the review until the Coronavirus health pandemic has been dealt with.

Goa has been one of the least affected states by the pandemic. Still, it hasn’t been entirely immune. There has been a decided spike in COVID-19 cases in Goa that has reached a tally of 818. The state also reported its first death today.

According to a TOI report, a senior government official has confirmed that Sawant is in favor of a detailed discussion on the notification of the rules after the COVID-19 crisis is over. The official informed that the documentation for the rules about the gaming commissioner’s appointment was sent to the law department, but later recalled and sent to the CM for approval.

“After discussion with the chief minister and his final approval, the file will once again be sent to the law department for vetting before it is notified,” the official said.

Casino Policy- In the Making For Years

Regulation of Goa’s casino sector has been an eyesore political issue for years now. Late Goa CM Manohar Parrikar had envisioned a broad-based casino policy that would include provisos for appointing a Gaming Commissioner, relocation of the offshore casinos to a land-based location, and banning of locals from gambling in the casinos.

After taking charge, CM Sawant followed in the footsteps of his predecessor by voicing the need for a casino policy. The first step in this direction came with the announcement that had been in the pipeline for far too long. The government announced that Goa locals would be barred from entering casinos.

The government’s subsequent move to explore moving some of the offshore casinos to the Verem side of River Mandovi didn’t go well with local and political groups. By December, the word was out that the government was planning to table the draft casino policy by January 2020.

The date passed, and still, the policy didn’t come up. Sensing political tension building up around the issue, Sawant confirmed on January 30 that Goans would not be allowed inside casinos starting February 1. Along with the ban, he gave the Commercial Tax Commissioner of the state the additional charge as the Gaming Commissioner, who was now authorized to issue special permits to tourists for entering designated gaming areas. Sawant said that even though Goans were banned from entering casinos until the rules were notified, tourists would not be stopped from entering the premises.

Sawant’s move to ban locals drew sharp criticism from the opposition and even from factions inside his party. Still, the COVID-19 crisis soon diverted the attention elsewhere, and once again, the long-pending casino policy got put on the backburner.

To stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the government closed all public places in the state, including casinos. The casinos have been closed since March 15 and during this time their permit to continue operating from the Mandovi expired. The government granted another six-month extension to the offshore casinos with September 30 the new deadline.

The casino industry got another shot in the arm earlier this month after the water audit conducted by a Goa State Pollution Control Board appointed firm gave offshore casinos a clean chit, underlining that they were not polluting the river.

CM Sawant’s latest move may delay the much-anticipated casino policy. Still, given the politically sensitive nature of the issue, and the ongoing COVID-led crisis, it seems like a reasonable step.