05 Dec 2021  |   06:32am IST

People have declared Goa casino capital: Tourism Min

Says that if Goa stands to benefit by Centre’s formal recognition of State as ‘casino capital’, it will do it
People have declared Goa casino capital: Tourism Min

Team Herald


PANJIM: In what could spark a debate ahead of the Assembly polls, the Union government has given a push for casino culture in Goa. Union Tourism and Culture Minister G Kishen Reddy’s statement on Saturday supporting the ‘casino culture’ tag that Goa earned due to the presence of casinos clearly indicates that casinos are not going out of the State. 

“There is no reason why Goa needs to be formally branded by the Central government as the casino capital of India. The people of the country have already given it the brand. Sikkim and Goa, both states which have a legal casino industry, have seen tourists flocking there in recent times,” he said, replying to a question during a press conference in Panjim on Saturday. 

To another related query, the Union minister reiterated that it is the people who have given that title to the State, not the government and added that if Goa stands to benefit by the Central government’s formal recognition of the State as the ‘casino capital’ of the country, it will definitely do it. 

Goa has six operational offshore casinos and around a dozen onshore casinos. The State had claimed it lost revenue when casinos were closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but their reopening has seen a rise. 

BJP has often put the blame on the opposition for encouraging casinos in Goa amidst criticism over the former’s U-turn on the issue and granting approvals to new casinos during its tenure in the past. 

The State recorded quite a few disturbing cases owing to locals’ entry following which it has barred gambling by the Goans. However, no rules have so far come into force to check if Goans are visiting the casinos.

IDhar UDHAR

Idhar Udhar