Goa: CM Sawant promises actions against illegal casinos in Legislative Assembly

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Chief minister of Goa, Pramod Sawant, told the assembly on Tuesday, March 28, that any illegal online casinos functioning in the state will be shut down with immediate effect in response to recent claims of illegal casinos operating across the state.

Responding to the issues, Sawant said, “From tomorrow, you will not see these illegal casinos operating in the state.”

Vijai Sardesai, MLA for the Goa Forward Party, brought up the topic of illegal casinos during the zero hour and called for action against them. He said that these illegal casinos, particularly those operating online, were costing the government with huge sums of money.

Sardesai further went on to say that currently there are as many as 50 illegal casinos operating throughout the entirety of Goa and causing the exchequer to lose money. He also went on to mention that in his own constituency, there are currently 13 operators.

“You always ask people to lodge a complaint. Now I am telling this on the floor of the House and providing names,” Sardesai said, taking the name of a person called Babloo revealed by local intelligence branch who collects ‘hafta’.

‘Will Write To Union Home Minister’ – Sawant

“Casinos on boats pay INR 40 crore to the state coffer. However, those operating illegally are not paying money to the government, but someone is benefited. I want action against these illegal casinos. If no action is taken, I will write to the Union Home Minister (Amit Shah) saying that the state is losing out on revenues because of illegal casinos,” Sardesai further added.

While these illegal online casinos that are being operated from offshore with agents in India are not something new, they do impact a significant amount of revenue for the government. Reports of these casinos and betting websites have increased a lot in the past year, with several people losing money on these online casinos.

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