Goans to be debarred from Goa Casinos

The Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parriker today announced that locals domiciled in Goa will not be allowed to enter Goa Casinos from March 1. This order will include both onshore and offshore casinos thus making Goa casinos accessible only to tourists.

Parriker added that the new rules of the Goa Gaming Act will be notified by Feb 28 and these will make it mandatory for visitors to Goa casinos to prove that they aren’t locals. The Goa government would a appoint gaming commissioner to regulate the affairs of the casino industry, the Goa chief minister said. “Initially, we may ask a district collector to be a gaming commissioner, before a full time officer is appointed,” he said. 

While the CM was firm that he didn’t care if this decision made a difference to the revenue of the casinos as this was a ‘policy’ decision. The casinos certainly are not happy with the decision. There are 4 offshore casinos and various other onshore casinos in 5 star hotels of Goa. Their business will definitely receive a setback since locals form a huge number of footfall.