Goa CM says casino policy and gaming commission still under examination, no timelines given for notification

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, in a written response given to the legislative assembly today stated that the issue of bringing out a casino policy for Goa and appointment of a Gaming Commission to oversee offshore and onshore casinos is ‘under examination.’

Sawant stated this in a written reply to an unstarred question raised by Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, who sought to know why the contours of the casino policy, which had being announced by then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in the legislative assembly last year, with an assurance formally announcing the detailed document by the end of August 2018 has not being released till date.

Lourenco also sought to know the status of appointment of a Gaming Commission, that Parrikar had stated would be announced by December 2018, and also sought to know the reasons for the delay in the implementation of the assurance.

Sawant did not give any specific reply to Lourenco’s query on the time frame by which the casino policy and gaming commission will be notified, and the reasons for the delay in the announcement.

In two separate responses to starred questions raised by BJP MLA Nilkanth Halarnkar, Sawant stated that six licenses have been given to offshore casinos and eight licenses have been currently issued to onshore casinos.

He stated that no cases of violation of any casino license term or condition have been reported to the government so far.