Goan casinos to be retained and regulated

Casinos in Goa to be retained and legalized as per a recent research paper published by a scholar of south Goa. Dr. Afonso Botelho, an associate professor of Sociology at the Rosary College of Commerce and Arts. He explains in his paper that the Indian middle class tourism is in a boom stage and preserving the casinos would help the economic development of the region.

However, the study specifies that sustainable strategies to be implemented to counteract possible ill-effects of casino gambling. Dr. Afonso also recommended setting up of an authority to regulate casinos in order to contain the potential negative effects.

Casinos have been en-rooted deep in to Goa and clearing the ever-growing number of casinos is becoming difficult as years roll by. The offshore casinos have almost etched with the landscape of Panaji making it difficult to visualize a casino free Panaji and the river Mandovi.

So it would be better to accept them as a reality and control them with sustainable policies to utilize their benefits for the development of the region.

The research paper also makes a comparison between the casino industry and its socio-economic impact on casino havens like Las Vegas, Singapore, Macau, Monte Carlo, etc., in a bid to put the casino industry in context vis-a-vis Goa, where the first casino gambling operation began in 1992.

Taking into consideration the opinions of the casino owners, the research paper suggests that the Indian middle class tourism boom and the concurrent hike in the number of foreign tourists will see a speedy growth of the casino industry in the near future and advocates that the currently liberated industry needs to be regulated by an authority with penalizing powers.

The first casino gambling operation began in Goa in 1992 with the amendment of the Public Gambling Act, 1976. However there are no rules regulating the actual casino operations for more than 26 years, eventually giving casino promoters a free run for more than two decades.

Goans are aware of the possible negative impacts of casino development and would like them to be contained through necessary rules and regulations. The establishment of a casino controlling regulatory authority or gaming commissioner is absolutely necessary at the earliest possible time.

The paper also suggest to increase the age limit for casino workers, in order to reduce the number of drop outs from schools and colleges, as the students may find it an attractive sector to earn easy money.