Casino Licence Goa
The Indian state of Goa has been up in arms over its offshore casino industry for the last few years. The floating casinos of Goa bring in both gambling revenue and tourism revenue while creating hundreds of jobs in the state. However, political, religious and environmental concerns have put pressure on the state government to shut them down.
Goa closed its casino industry in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 shutdown and has yet to give the casinos approval to open. As of now, there has been no license extension provided to offshore casino operators and CM Sawant has not said anything about providing them with another six month license extension. Govt announces new fee structure for Goa’s casinos by Donna Amo Posted on 05 Nov, 2020. The green signal given to Goa’s casinos from 1 November was met with excitement for many who were waiting for them to restart. The decision was made by the state government to revive the state’s economy, a large part of which comes from these casinos. Casinos in the Indian states of Goa and Sikkim are set to reopen this weekend, more than seven months after they were shut due to COVID-19. On Wednesday, Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that the state’s casinos – both land-based and shipboard – had been given permission to reopen their doors on November 1.
In March 2020, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant gave offshore casino operators a license extension till September and warned them that this could be their last extension. This game between the state government and offshore casino operators has been going for the last two years where they have been threatened with closure only to be given a 6 month license extension.
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Goa closed its casino industry in May 2020 due to the COVID-19 shutdown and has yet to give the casinos approval to open. As of now, there has been no license extension provided to offshore casino operators and CM Sawant has not said anything about providing them with another six month license extension.
Andhra Pradesh Looking At Floating Casinos
While Goa’s floating casino industry might be coming to an end, the state of Andhra Pradesh is thinking of launching their own offshore casino industry. Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and his government have been discussing the possibility of launching an offshore casino industry that will operate off the coast of Visakhapatnam.
Casino Licence Goa Online
The AP coast runs for 975 kms and the territorial waters in India goes on for 12 nautical miles which opens the door for these floating casinos to operate. AP like most states in India are facing a lot of economic woes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and is looking for new ways to bring in revenue and create jobs.
This is not the first time that AP has looked at launching a floating casino industry but this time around there is a strong push due to market conditions. The AP government believes that a floating casino industry will also do well for its tourism market, especially if Goa shuts down its offshore casino industry. AP is also looking to launch a new state lottery and is currently working on the idea.
However, expect the move to introduce offshore casinos in AP to receive a lot of opposition from both political and religious fronts. There are many who are surprised to see AP push for an offshore casino industry given that the state banned online gambling in September 2020.
Carolyn is our legislation expert, with a background in law she is able to cover the current state of gambling around the world
The floating casinos in the Indian state of Goa received clearance to restart operations since pandemic lockdown. The CCP or Corporation of the City of Panaji had already provided in-principal approval for the renewal of the trade licenses of the offshore casinos.
The floating boats are currently docked at the Mandovi River. The final approval could come on November 11 at the next council meeting.
Uday Madkaikar, Panjim mayor, said casino operators need to reapply for their licenses. This approval would be good enough for the current financial year and the period ends on March 31, 2021. The fees would contribute to the city’s operating budget.
This is a quite different view from CCP than a year before.
Last year, CCP unanimously voted against the renewal of the trade licenses. The decisions came after locals complained about the disruption caused by the casinos.
However, Madkaikar, said that now there is no nightlife in the city. He said people from restaurants, hotels, and taxi operators almost pleaded with him to open the casinos. Well, the legal experts have another view. They say that no renewal would have dragged the city to the court and that could have been lost huge loss for the city.
However, there are a few changes that the casinos need to do. The roads leading up to the floating casinos need to be rezoned. There has to be ‘no parking zone’, ‘no stopping zone’ etc. In fact, a private towing firm needs to be appointed to implement the orders as well.
Casino License Application
The licenses of the casinos ended on Mach 31st and it coincided with the shutdown orders due to the pandemic. Last week, the casinos were told that they would be able to resume operations from November 1.
Casino License And Bluhm
However, the state government has not really authorized any casino actually operating so far.
Source:https://calvinayre.com/2020/11/05/casino/goa-floating-casinos-catch-break-license-renewals/