Delta Corp’s latest floating casino in Goa earns the ire of local politicians

delta-goa-floating-casino-caravelaIndia’s Delta Corp has received the okay to launch a new/old floating casino in the state of Goa

This week, Delta announced that Goa officials had authorized its wholly owned subsidiary Delta Pleasure Cruise Company to operate another floating casino. The license for the MV Royale Flotel – Deltin Caravela brings the total number of offshore casinos floating on Goa’s Mandowi River to five.

The news was slammed by opposition politicians, who pointed out that it was just three months ago that the government had granted the existing floating casinos only a one-year window in which to find somewhere else to call home.

But the government’s March announcement had also declared that it was reviewing the issue of the Caravela, which received its license in 2014 but never launched due to the uncertainty over the relocation issue, which has been hovering over the market since 2013 but delayed on multiple occasions.

Regardless, Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte claimed that the Caravela’s license had expired in December 2014, and thus the government was breaking its promise not to renew any license that expired after March 2014.

Along with the Deltin Royale and the Deltin Jaqk, Delta now operates three floating casinos in Goa, All five of Goa’s gaming vessels still need to find a new home by March 31, 2017.

Delta received a land-based Goa casino license last December for its Deltin Suites hotel while it is currently putting the finishing touches on its casino in the state of Daman, The Deltin, which plans to be India’s largest casino with a 60k-square foot gaming floor offering up to 1,500 slots and table games.