Panaji: The Congress' Goa unit does not have a problem in opening up the state's coast to several more offshore casinos, as long as the vessels are berthed in the Arabian Sea, a party spokesperson Thursday said. Addressing a press conference, party spokesman Vishnu Wagh said that the Congress was for the offshore casino industry, as long as the common man was not affected.

Panaji: After dragging its feet for months, the Goa government has directed the state's six offshore casinos to suspend their operations on grounds of pollution and sealed restaurants on board five of them ahead of a Bombay High Court hearing on the issue. The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) Tuesday night directed the six offshore casinos to suspend their operations for violation of air and water pollution norms.

Offshore casinos in Goa are committing 'gross violations' of the law, the state's Tourism minister Francisco Pacheco has said. The minister, better known as Mickky, warned that provisions of the Goa Tourism and Trade Act would be invoked if the casino operators did not clean up their act. 'First of all they have to be five nautical miles from the shore,' he told a local cable television channel Tuesday.

Panaji - Goa Chief Minister Digambar Kamat today told the assembly that the government shall review the entire policy related to functioning of casinos on and off-shores at the earliest following a spate of complaints. Intervening on the issue during Question Hour, Mr Kamat said Home Minister and Sports Minister should sit together to review the policy so that the casinos organisers did not violate licensing rules henceforth.

Taiwanese parliament is set to legalize gambling on a group of offshore islands as soon as year end, legislative sources said this week, as local officials eye permits for three resort casinos to shore up their economy. The passage of a bill authorizing gaming in the Penghu archipelago would bring Taiwan into competition with other East Asia gaming hotspots such as Macau and South Korea, and upcoming casinos in Singapore, even as the global credit crisis make it harder for developers to raise funds for new projects.

Pune - A Mumbai-based company’s plan to set up what was billed as South Asia’s largest offshore casino, Maharaja, at Goa seems to be the first major casualty of the State Government’s decision to stop issuing new licences. According to sources, the project announced by Pan India Network Infravest Pvt Ltd (PINIPL), the promoters of Playwin lottery, was to have become operational during the later part of this year.

Calling them “dens of vice”, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) plans to launch a campaign against casinos in the tourist hub of Goa this month. “We cannot protest in public as the code of conduct is on (with the by-election in Pale assembly constituency scheduled in November), but once the polls are over and done with we will make sure that casinos are thrown out of Goa,” leader of opposition Manohar Parrikar claimed.

Offshore Goa casinos, where punters love to push their luck, will not be spared from the ban on smoking in public places, an official said. Shekhar Salkar, Goa tobacco control cell in charge, told IANS the ban would be extended to the several offshore casinos which dot the Mandovi river that flows by state capital Panaji. "Casinos are also public places. They will not be spared. We will not allow smoking in casinos whether they are docked at the wharf or are floating offshore,"...

A bill seeking to restrict offshore casinos to the sea beyond five nautical miles from Goa’s coast was introduced in the Goa Assembly last week. It also specified that casinos should be operated only from maritime vessels. ’The Goa Public Gambling (Amendment) Bill, 2008’ introduced by the leader of the opposition, Manohar Parrikar during the slot for private members’ bills, sought to amend section 13A of the Goa Public Gambling Act, 1976.

Panaji - With Panaji port turning into an off shore casino hub, the ships carrying iron ore have complained about the congestion of their traditional pathway especially a narrow stretch in the Mandovi river. The Mandovi canal, adjacent to the capital city of Panaji, a point where Mandovi river meets Arabian sea, currently has four off shore casino boats anchored in it.

Panaji - Notwithstanding strong objection by main opposition political outfit, Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), Goa government is all set to permit four more off shore casinos with ships already anchored in the Panaji port. Goa already has an off shore casino `Caravela' managed by M/s Advani Pleasures Company, while state government has expressed interest to grant five more licenses for these off shore gambling dens.

With floating casinos proving to be a “vital cash-cow” for the state’s exchequer, the Goa government is all set to become a gambler’s paradise on the lines of Las Vegas. The state cabinet has agreed “in-principle” to award another five licenses to float offshore casinos. Currently, the state has two offshore casinos, while the third is expected to start operations this month. Following this significant development, the tourist state will now have a total of eight casinos floating on Goan waters.