Panaji, Jan 2 (IANS) Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar Friday said the government was not in favour of stopping the operations of five existing casinos "in one go".
Addressing a press conference, Parsekar said offshore casinos were generating considerable income for the Goa government but added that no new casinos would be granted permission.
"Their business is going on. They were permitted... It was because of permissions maybe of the earlier government that they are functioning there. Bucking such a set business may end up in someone going to court," Parsekar said.
Goa has five operational offshore casinos and about 10 five-star hotel operated onshore casinos which attract hundreds of thousands of gamblers to the state annually.
The BJP, which had been opposing casinos for years before the 2012 assembly election, had promised in its election manifesto to do away with the casinos in Mandovi river off Panaji.
However, after coming to power, the party insisted that it would relocate the casinos to deeper seas off Goa after four years by 2016.
Parsekar has claimed on more than one occasion that doing away with casinos may not be such a good idea at all and his BJP-led coalition government was open to renewal of licences. The chief minister however said his government would not allow new casinos in Goa.
"We will not allow news casinos. And those which are there since the Congress regime and from where there is considerable revenue coming in, we will have to think about closing them in one go," Parsekar said.
Meanwhile, the casino lobby here has welcomed Parsekar's statement.
Minutes after Parsekar's statement, Shrinivas Nayak, director of Pride Group of Casinos and Hotels and a vocal advocate of the casino lobby in Goa, welcomed the government's stand.
"This will not only provide stability to the industry but also encourage investors for more investments in Goa in tourism and other sectors," Nayak said in a statement issued here.
Goa attracts nearly three million tourists every year, with casinos accounting for a sizeable percentage of the footfalls.
Why Turkey is extending a hand of friendship towards Israel
Turkish Foreign Minister Mavlut Chavushoglu and Energy Minister Fatih Donmez are visiting Israel on Wednesday. Relations between the two countries have been strained for many years.
War 2 Trailer: Hrithik Roshan's film shows a lot of action, audience's excitement is at its peak
Ever since the announcement of Hrithik Roshan, Jr NTR, and Kiara Advani's action thriller film 'War 2', there has been tremendous excitement among the audience. This movie is directed by Ayan
IGNOU Re-registration: IGNOU has extended the deadline for re-registration for the January session, now apply till this date
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has extended the re-registration deadline for January 2023 session till January 15, 2023. Interested candidates can now fill out the registration form at
America: Relief for Indian students, court quashes changes in H-1B visa rules of Trump tenure
In a major ruling on Friday, a US federal court canceled changes made to the H-1B visa rules of the Trump tenure. This decision of the court will give great relief to the students of many countries
The first song of Gangubai Kathiawadi Dholida out, Alia Bhatt gives competition to Deepika-Aishwarya
The song Dholida from Alia Bhatt starrer film Gangubai Kathiawadi has been released. Alia's performance in this song is being praised tremendously. This is a Garba Song. The song begins with Sanjay
Skill Education: After studies, no student will roam in vain, during higher education, skill education will be compulsory at every level.
The study of higher education will no longer be just for collecting degrees, diplomas, and certificates, but will also prepare the students in such a way that they do not have to roam around
Fulfilled my promise of merging OCI, PIO cards: Modi
Gandhinagar, Jan 8 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday said he has fulfilled his promise to the diaspora of merging the Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and Overseas Citizenship of India
Russians top list of foreign tourists to Goa
Panaji, March 24 (IANS) Russians topped the list of foreign tourists to Goa in 2014.According to statistics published in the Economic Survey of Goa 2014-15, tourists from Britain formed the second
Pakistan News: President Arif Alvi told Imran Khan, to stop attacking the new army chief
President Arif Alvi has asked Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party chief Imran Khan to strictly instruct his party leaders and social media team not to attack the newly appointed army chief General Asim
More than 78 thousand patients increased in 24 hours, 62 thousand people were cured, 1027 infected died, the number of active cases crossed 8 lakh; 37.66 lakh patients so far
On Tuesday, the number of corona patients in the country crossed 37 lakh. So far 37 lakh 66 thousand 108 people have been infected. Within the last 24 hours, 78 thousand 168 new patients increased. It
