Goa's Mandovi river is soon to be home to what is possibly the largest floating casino in India, with Highstreet Cruises and Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, a player inthe gaming and entertainment industry, ready to launch an offshore casino in May this year. The company is also simultaneously setting up a 50-room floating hotel in Panjim to accommodate guests who come to try their luck.
Panaji: Giving in to political opposition to offshore casinos in Goa, the state government has doubled the entertainment tax levied from the gambling dens to ten per cent. Finance minister Dayanand Narvekar hiked the entertainment tax on casinos including off shore casinos, in the state budget presented on the floor of the House yesterday. The move will double the revenue from entertainment tax levied from casinos.
An offshore casino with ’no-limits’ tables, touted as the biggest in South Asia, will open in Goa next month. Aboard a specially commissioned 70-metre long Panamenian vessel, costing USD 25 million, it will be operated by Creative Gaming Solution, a subsidiary of Mumbai-based Pan India Network Infravest Pvt Ltd (Pinipl), the promoter of the Playwin lottery. "It will be the biggest offshore casino and will be an added appeal for tourists to visit Goa,” Pinipl managing director Amar Sinha told IANS.
Macau/New DelhiI: Goa will soon have a new addition to its list of attractions. And it could be no bigger than a casino spread over 20,000 sq ft, thanks to the Rs 3,400-crore Playwin, the country’s largest online lottery company and gaming brand of Pan India Infravest. The company believes that this offshore casino will be by far the biggest casino operation in the state.
A leading hotel group in Goa has agreed to shift its second offshore casino from river Sal, which sparked off protest amongst local fishermen. The second offshore casino had evoked strong protest from local people due to its location. The fishermen had resented the move, alleging that the casino vessel was hindering the movement of fishing trawlers. The management of Hotel Leela agreed to shift the vessel after a meeting with the chief minister on Wednesday. “They (hotel) had agreed to shift it to a suitable location,” Goa Chief Minister Kamat told here.
The Goa government is seeking legal opinion to resolve the controversy surrounding the second off-shore casino in the river Sal. “We have sought legal opinion on the entire matter before proceeding further on the issue,” state Chief Secretary J P Singh said. Singh, who was supposed to give his verdict on the issue, after South Goa locals opposed the second off-shore casino, said he would require more time to decide.
Dehli - The palm-fringed beaches of Goa attract millions of tourists lured by the white sands, dreamy blue water and trance parties held alongside the pounding surf. But the idyllic coastline of Goa is poised to get a controversial new addition in the form of a flotilla of floating casinos that will operate off shore in order to get around federal laws restricting such enterprises on the land. Reports suggest that up to 11 ships could be operating along the coast by the end of the year.
Panaji: India’s second off-shore casino based in south Goa is in trouble with the locals, in no mood to accept the vessel, which is hindering the fishing trawlers. “The casino will adversely affect the livelihood of local fishermen, whose trawlers wade through the narrow river strip where the casino vessel is scheduled to be stationed,’’ Elvino D’Silva, chairman, Assolna-Velim-Cavelosim-Betul (AVCB) traditional fishermen, stated.
The palm-fringed beaches of Goa attract millions of tourists lured by the white sands, dreamy blue water and trance parties held alongside the pounding surf. But the idyllic coastline of Goa is poised to get a controversial new addition, a flotilla of casinos that will operate offshore to get around federal laws restricting such enterprises on land. Reports suggest that up to 11 ships could be operating along the coast by the end of the year.
