India: Panaji won’t renew offshore casino licences

Six offshore casino vessels anchored by the Mandovi river won’t receive the renewal of their licences.

India.- Six offshore casinos in Panaji, the state capital of Goa in southwest India, will be unable to reopen after the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) said it would withhold the renewal of trade licences for the casino vessels anchored in the Mandovi river.

The casinos remain closed since mid-March, when lockdown measures were introduced to fight Covid-19 spreading, but city authorities don’t want to see them reopen.

CCP mayor Uday Madkaikar said: “There is chaos on the streets of Panaji during evening when offshore casinos attract maximum footfalls for the day.”

The licences of the casinos were due for renewal after March 31.

Currently new legislation for casinos is being discussed in India, under which tourists would need a permit to enter venues.