At the meeting held in the capital on Thursday, AAAAG resolved to continue its opposition to casinos till the government shuts their operations in River Mandovi.
“The Legislative Assembly has to remove the amendment made to the Goa Gambling Prevention Act permitting casinos. BJP had promised to remove the casinos before the 2017 elections but on coming to power, it worked to spread casino addiction to generate revenue,” the members discussed.
Claiming that BJP’s modus operandi was to consciously target the upper middle class people who would ultimately bring their money, gold, flats, and properties into the coffers of the casino owners, the NGO alleged that a fraction of the ill-gotten money was given as tax and donation to the political party to fight the elections.
“The government allowed the casinos to operate without regulations which are a world record in looting public. It passed legislations wherein public cannot go to court with complaints against casinos, and instead brought the concept of Gambling Commissioner – to report the matters – which was never appointed,” it said.
AAAAG called upon the people to resist the proliferation of casinos in the name of revenue and jobs. Employing youth to promote gambling addiction along with other addictions like alcohol and prostitution should be strongly opposed, the statement reads.
It also urged people to impress upon their MLAs to push for revoking of the amendment in the Goa Gambling Act that permits casinos.
