The five floating casinos in the Indian state of Goa could find a new permanent home after a private investor offered to establish a “special offshore casino zone.”
In March, Goa’s state government bucked public pressure and controversially renewed the licenses of its floating casinos for a one-year period on the condition that the casinos find somewhere other than the Mandovi river to call home.
Over the weekend, Gayatriraje Chowgule told The Nahvind Times that she’d pitched the government on relocating the casinos to a stretch of land the family’s Chowgule Group owns along the Zuari river near Chicalim, about 3km from Dabolim international airport.
Chowgule said the family had approached the government in February but had yet to enter into agreements with the casino owners. Chowgule insisted that the family wouldn’t be “hosting the casinos … we are only facilitating the government” and it was up to the government to decide whether to authorize the casinos to dock at the site.
Chowgule said various government ministries had already conducted the necessary tests on the site in 1995, when the Mormugao Port Trust was considering building a fisheries property near the parcel of land. The property is isolated from the closest village road, and would therefore cause minimal disruption to local residents.
Meanwhile, a high-level delegation from the Union Territory of Puducherry is preparing to visit Goa to study the local casino industry. On Friday, Puducherry’s Chief Minister told local media that his administration was exploring “the possibility of setting up an offshore casino like in Goa.”
On Sunday, The Hindu quoted Puducherry Tourism Minister Malladi Krishna Rao saying the proposed casino(s) would be “primarily aimed at domestic and international tourists visiting the Union Territory.” The average occupancy rate at Puducherry hotels is a dismal 32% and tourist stays rarely exceed three days, underscoring the need for the region to boost its entertainment options.
While Malladi cautioned that the casino talk was still at the preliminary stage, he said the government was considering allowing them to operate in the districts of Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.
