Goa Government Grants Another Six-Month Extension to Offshore Casinos 

  • Profile picture
  • Namita Ghosh April 23, 2020
  • 2 Minutes Read

At a time when the entire country is struggling with the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, things have been relatively more straightforward in Goa. All the seven people who had tested positive with the COVID-19 virus have recovered, and the coastal state has not reported a single new positive case in the last two weeks. The government is, however, not taking any chances, and the state continues to be under lockdown like the rest of the country.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced various decisions taken by the State Cabinet recently.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant

 

Talking about the casino industry, Sawant announced that the cabinet has approved another six-month extension for offshore casinos to remain moored on the River Mandovi.

(Video courtesy: Prudent Media)

The extension is a stopgap measure partly due to the ongoing health crisis and also because the government has been unable to map out the draft Casino Policy that envisages moving all offshore casinos to land. Nonetheless, the government’s decision to extend the permission has brought temporary relief to the casino sector that is suffering from massive operational losses because of the ongoing lockdown.

 

Offshore Casinos – Uncertain Future

This is not the first time that such an extension has been granted to Goa casinos. There are at present six offshore casinos moored on Mandovi, namely, MV Pride of Goa, MV Casino Royale, MV Horseshoe Casino, MV Royale, MV Argosy IV, and MV Lucky. The last six-month extension granted to the casinos by the state government on September 25 lapsed on March 31, this year.

The offshore casinos have been the topic of much political debate with the relocation of these floating casinos from River Mandovi being an important issue that has cropped up time and again. The government had first mapped a relocation plan in 2013. While the government’s Casino Policy has been in the making for several years now, last June, CM Sawant admitted that casinos were vital for tourism. Sawant also later revealed plans to relocate the casinos to the under-construction Mopa Airport project. In the meantime, the Ports Department was reportedly exploring possible alternate locations to move the casinos out of River Mandovi temporarily. Again this was an exercise in vain.

Last December, the government permitted Deltin Caravela to be shifted towards the Veeram side of the Mandovi River. At this time, Port Minister Michael Lobo’s revealed that two more casinos would be moved to the Veeram side. However, these plans met with stiff local opposition and never materialized.

0 0 votes
Article Rating
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Top Online Poker Rooms

Top
PokerGuru