PORVORIM: The Goa government is set to formulate a policy to ban online gambling advertisements and remove all hoardings promoting such activities, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced on Wednesday. In response to legislative demands for action against the rampant online gambling in the state, Sawant confirmed that all hoardings promoting online gambling and betting have already been taken down. He stated that 44 cases related to online gambling have been registered since 2019. Sawant refrained from disclosing further details or sharing copies of FIRs and chargesheets to preserve ongoing investigations.
Despite the crackdown, Sawant acknowledged the difficulty of controlling app-based online gambling as players download these games on mobile devices, and admitted that youth are at risk of financial ruin from this vice.
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The government has directed the Goa police department and Cyber Crime police to take action against online gambling locations, online lottery sites, and online casinos. Currently, 11 on-land and six offshore casinos are operating in the state with no entry allowed for Goans, Sawant added.
Leader of the Opposition, Yuri Alemao said online gambling was going on through over 500 locations and that their daily turnover was close to Rs 30 crore. He further went on to allege that the illegal activities go on unabated in connivance of the police and Cyber Crime.
