Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said his government planned on issuing a complete ban on local residents from casinos in the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party leader said the government will relocate offshore casino vessels from the Mandovi river to another location, PTI reported.
“I sincerely believe that gambling is not good. If we can, we should remove it from the state. It is human nature to gamble that is why we cannot eradicate it completely, but we definitely cannot encourage it,” Parrikar said. The former defence minister added that a lot had been done to restrict the entry of local residents, and “in the days to come, there will be a complete ban on locals going to casinos”.
However, Parrikar clarified that the gambling houses will not face shutdown immediately as companies have invested in them.
His statements follow his announcement that the government will uphold a ban on holding parties after 10 pm and increase the “crack down on drugs, prostitution and illegal gambling seen at such bashes”.
In February, the state government had sent draft gaming rules, which ban the entry of Goans to casinos except for employment, to the advocate general for his legal opinion, according to The Times of India. The rules have yet to be notified.
During his previous tenure as the chief minister of Goa, Parrikar had granted permission to the Deltin Group to launch the state’s biggest casino. This decision was made shortly after the 2013 BJP national executive meeting in Goa.
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