Goa Government to appoint Gaming Commissioner

Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar announced that his government will name a Gaming Commissioner within the next two weeks.

India.- Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar announced that his government will name a Gaming Commissioner within the next two weeks. The commissioner will be responsible for overseeing the casino industry in Goa, however, he will not have the power to decide the location of each casino.

The announcement comes after The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government faced a great deal of criticism from both the opposition party as well as members from its own government for allowing the casino industry to continue operations.

So far, the government has proposed a number of amendments to its gaming law which are currently being reviewed. If the new gaming legislation is implemented in Goa, locals will no longer be allowed into casinos, the entry fee will be increased from 700 rupees (US$10) to 1,000 rupees (US$14.8), all visitors entering the casino will have to produce a photo identity to gain access and the casino will be responsible for saving and archiving video images of all patrons for a 30 day period. The Gaming Commissioner will have to ensure that all eighteen casinos in Goa strictly comply with these new amendments.

On the other hand, opposition parties in the state have not been convinced with the proposed gaming amendments nor the appointment of a Gaming Commissioner as they believe the casino industry is causing more harm than good to the local community.