Seventh Goa casino gets heavy criticism

The Indian state’s opposition party has accused the government of being linked to the latest offshore casino authorised.

India.- A seventh offshore casino was recently approved to enter the Goa gaming market but has been severely criticised by the opposition party. The Congress party has slammed the gaming venue’s approval and accused the BJP-led coalition government of being linked to the industry.

“The entry of the seventh offshore casino in Goa’s Mandovi river has proved our point that the casino lobby is running this government and deciding BJP policies. Moreover, the casino lobby itself has become the ‘Big Daddy’ of the BJP,” Congress spokesperson Sunil Kawthankar said after the offshore casino vessel parked in the Mandovi river.

The vessel will host the seventh venue in the state, from Essel Group’s Maharaja line of casinos, which will lease it from a firm belonging to former Haryana Minister of State for Home Gopal Kanda. There are a further nine onshore casinos, which operate at the numerous coastal resorts.

A draft policy to regulate the casino industry in the Indian state has yet to be drafted, and casinos seem to have benefited from the situation. The state government has announced a further extensionfor gaming companies, which has added yet more time to operate on the Mandovi river.