The proposed entry of a new offshore ca sino vessel into the River Mandovi has reignited the long-running controversy over floating casinos, with citizens and activists alleg ing a backdoor expansion in capacity even as the gov ernment maintains that the number of vessels will re main unchanged. Captain of Ports (CoP) Octavio Anthony Rodri gues clarified that the State government has permitted only six offshore casinos in Goa and ‘at no point can the number exceed six’. At pres ent, five offshore casinos operate on the Panjim side of the river and one on the Verem side.
According to CoP Rodrigues, the current exercise in volves replacing the smaller ‘Dolphin’ casino vessel with a larger 112-metre-long vessel — a proposal that received government approval four years ago. The larger vessel was initially proposed to be stationed in Verem Bay, behind the existing Horseshoe casino. However, following objections from local residents who claimed that an additional vessel would affect their liveli hood, the CoP said he reviewed the matter and submitted a revised plan.
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Under the new arrangement, the incoming vessel will occupy the current position of the Horseshoe casino, while the Horseshoe vessel will shift to the slot presently held by the smaller Dolphin vessel. As a temporary measure, the Horseshoe casino vessel will be moved to a mooring point near the Old Secretariat for up to two months, until April 30, while new mooring buoys are installed at the designat ed location. During this transition, one small vessel will be removed to ensure that the number of casinos on the Pan jim side does not exceed five at any given time. However, opposition leaders and activists argue that the move amounts to a significant escalation in scale, if not in number. AAP State president Valmiki Naik, along with Sabina Martins of Aam Aadmi Aurat Against Gambling (AAAAG) and residents from Panjim, Ribandar and Reis Magos, met the Captain of Ports demanding that permission not be granted for the vessel’s entry. Naik alleged that while the government describes the move as a replacement, the new vessel can accommodate over 2,000 people compared to around 390 on the old vessel. “This is not a simple replacement – this is a mas sive increase in capacity,” he said, adding that the 27-me tre-high vessel would be larger than most buildings in Panjim. “This sharp increase in capacity will further burden al ready stretched infrastructure. We are deeply concerned about traffic congestion, sewage handling and mounting garbage along the river-front,” Martins said. Harish Madkaikar of Reis Magos said the village panchayat had passed a resolution opposing the move but was informed it had no authority to intervene. Ac tivists asserted that they would continue their agitation until casino vessels are removed from the River Mandovi altogether. Responding to the opposition from residents of Reis Magos and other river-front areas, CoP Rodrigues main tained that the replacement had already been approved at the government level. “If citizens oppose, they must take it up with the appropriate authorities. I am not here to bring casinos or stop them. If the vessel comes with all valid statutory certificates, I cannot deny entry,” he said. He added that his office is bound by the Indian Vessels Act, 2025, and port regulations, and stressed that no ves sel would be permitted to operate without mandatory service and safety certificates. Each casino vessel, he said, has a capacity of around 350–400 persons and must com ply with stringent safety norms. While the government insists that the cap of six off shore casinos remains intact, critics contend that the scale and impact of operations on the Mandovi are set to grow — intensifying a debate that Goa has struggled to resolve for years.
