Team Herald
PANJIM: The draft rules banning a person under the age of 21 or a Goan from entering casinos has finally been vetted by the Law department and the rules could be notified by the start of the next financial year.
Additional secretary Home Sanjiv Gadkar said the Home Department had recently forwarded the file for scrutiny and approval. He said that the Law department has vetted the draft rules with some minor observations.
“The Law department has made some observation which would be adhered to,” he said refusing to disclose further details. He said this has paved the way for publishing and notifying the rules. “The rules will be required to be placed before the cabinet as there is need to appoint a Gaming Commissioner,” he said.
Nonetheless, he said, all formalities could be completed in a month and the rules would come into existence before the start of the next financial year.
The Home department’s draft rules also spell out qualification and appointment procedure of a Gaming Commissioner, to ensure rules are complied with once implemented. The development comes after a delay of over three years when the government had assured to finalise and notify the Casino Policy and Gaming Commission.
Every person entering casinos will be mandated to display their identity card. “An identification document is a must as the fresh law will curtail people under the age of 21 years as well as Goans from entering offshore and on-shore casinos. The government-appointed flying squad will keep a check to ensure its proper implementation,” an official said, adding that the State had in-principle approved the draft rules last year.
The BJP, in its 2012 election manifesto, had assured to ban Goans from entering casinos and to shift off-shore casino vessels out of River Mandovi. Since then it has taken various U-turns with Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar raising doubts over shifting the vessels in the absence of suitable infrastructure.
He had stated that since casinos contribute to the revenue of the State, shifting them to another location may not be a good idea.
