Goa Casinos Shutdown As India Reels From Rise Of COVID-19 Cases
Goa is one of the three locations in India where there is a licensed casino industry. Goa happens to have the biggest casino industry out of the three locations as it is the only state in India which permits both a land based and floating casino industry. The state thrives on tourism and the government generates a significant amount of revenue from casino taxes.
Delta Corp, the biggest casino operator in Goa announced this week that it would be closing all of its casinos till May 10 due to the growing number of COVID-19 cases. The state government sealed the deal when it ordered all casinos to shut down as it announced a 5 day lockdown to curb the rise of COVID-19 cases.
TIMES NOW
Casino operators in Goa have already suffered major financial losses in 2020 due to the initial shutdown and were looking forward to slowly recovering in 2021. However, they are now looking at another extended shutdown as gaming analysts predict that Delta Corp is highly unlikely to reopen its casino operations after May 10.
Even with the casinos opened in 2021, the tourist numbers and casino visitors were not as high as before given that a lot of Indians are not keen on traveling due to the risks associated with COVID. Goa is also a big draw to international tourists especially those from Russia, Israel and the UK.
Since international travel has also been hit, foreign tourist numbers at Goa’s casinos have also dwindled.
Don’t Expect Casinos To Open In May
India is facing a massive spike in COVID-19 cases as over 300,000 positive cases are being reported on a daily basis with 20 million positive cases being reported in total during the last 7 days. There are close to 4,000 COVID related deaths each day in India and some reporters claim that these numbers are being underreported.
Goa is one of the many states in India to see a spike in cases and the government is now focused on stemming the rise in cases. Don’t expect Goa’s casinos to open anytime in May 2021 and maybe even into June as India continues to look for answers to stop COVID.
While India continues to vaccinate its citizens, there is a huge shortage of vaccinations and other essential medical supplies. If you were planning a vacation to Goa, you are best putting it off till the end of 2021.
David WalkerAuthor
David is our resident 'down under' contributor, letting us know what is going on in the southern hemisphere, he is also keen blackjack player
