Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said Monday that the government has no plans to increase the number of offshore casinos allowed to operate on the Mandovi River from its current six.
His comments come with the issue of Goa’s offshore casinos continuing to create widespread debate, with long-term plans to eventually relocate them to onshore locations failing to make any significant progress.
It had also been claimed by opposition leader Yuri Alemao that a new jetty being built on the Mandori River was for the purpose of facilitating a seventh casino. In response, Sawant said the jetty was in fact for ferry passengers and urged the opposition “not to create panic among people”. There are currently 17 casinos in Goa, including 11 located on land.
Sawant recently announced that the state’s casinos had generated tax revenues of Rs 936.64 crore (US$114 million) for the state between 1 April 2019 and 15 July 2023. The offshore casinos are currently generating Rs 187 crore (US$22.8 million) in license fees annually.
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