Deadline extension for Goa’s floating casinos

The floating casinos in the Indian state received a deadline extension from their proposed expulsion from the Mandovi river.

India.- Goa’s state government revealed yesterday that the five floating casinos operating in the Mandovi river received an additional six month extension from the deadline that would’ve expelled them. The government had previously said that they would need to relocate by September 30.

Manohar Parrikar, Chief Minister of Goa, said that he wasn’t sure the government would require that amount of time to come up with a solution. “By December, as promised, we should be able to come out with a policy,” he said. Goa’s authorities have been trying to eliminate offshore casino from the the Mandovi River for quite some time now. Last month, Goa panchayat minister Mauvin Godinho said that the state government has the intention move the casinos out of the local river within the next three years.

Several candidates for the Congress of Panjim, the capital city of Goa State, have added proposals against offshore casinos to their campaigns. The government is working on new gaming policies that eliminates casino vessels from the language, making sure that floating casinos cannot exist in the state anymore.

Furthermore, last week a law officer confirmed that the law department of Goa has examined the draft rules for casinos. Some of the changes include banning the entry of locals to Goa casinos and increasing the age to 21 years old. Moreover, the chief minister of Goa would have the option to appoint a gaming commissioner either from the state or an IAS officer.