Goa Pulls The Plug On Floating Casinos & Not Renewing Licences

Goa is the only state in India that has licensed land based casinos and offshore casinos in operation. The most tourist friendly state in India has decided that it can no longer be so liberal with gambling operations as the Panaji city council announced this week that it had decided not to renew the licenses of six offshore casinos that operate in Goa.

Those who have been keeping a close watch on the casino industry in Goa are not surprised by this decision as the state government had threatened to shut down the offshore casino industry for a number of years but did not make good on its threats until this week.

The BJP led government has been under pressure from both religious as well as the opposition party to suspend the licenses of all offshore casinos.

The state government did not yield to this pressure for a long time and preferred to wait till these six offshore casinos licenses came up for renewal. The decision not to renew these licenses has been welcomed by gambling opposition groups.

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The decision not to renew these offshore licenses also solves the problem of finding a new home for these offshore casinos. The state government had taken a lot of flak over the last few years as protestors wanted these offshore casinos to be relocated from the River Mandovi as they were polluting the environment. 

The government tried to relocate these offshore casinos but failed to find them a proper home which resulted in them continuing to operate on the River Mandovi. The government had requested for more time to sort out the relocation of these offshore casinos but no longer have to deal with this issue.

Goa To Crackdown On Casino Advertising

The Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) has also announced a crackdown on casino outdoor advertising in the state. Casino operators rely heavily on LED advertising boards and street banners which are displayed in multiple parts of the city. These outdoor advertising signs will be taken down and casino operators will no longer be able to use these methods to advertise.

There are reports that the six offshore casino operators will take legal action against the state government. However, the Mayor of Panaji has issued a direct threat to the casino operators and challenged them to go to court if they wanted to challenge the CCP’s order.