Goa to get casino policy in a week, says Parrikar

The BJP-led coalition government in Goa will come up with a policy to govern the casino industry in a week's time, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Monday, adding that all the five offshore casinos will be relocated from the Mandovi river off Panaji.

"Casino policy will be brought in one week to get casinos out of the river in a defined time frame," Parrikar told the Goa Legislative Assembly.

Goa has five operational offshore casinos and more than half dozen onshore casinos located in many of the five-star resorts in the coastal regions.

Over the last few years, the Opposition has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of being cozy with the casino industry. The party has, however, fought back the charge, claiming that bulk of the casinos operating now were permitted in Goa during an erstwhile Congress regime.

The state also has several onshore casinos which operate from the numerous five-star resorts located in the coastal regions of the state.

--IANS

maya/nir/vm