License fee hike for on-shore casinos in Goa

Saturday 13th of August 2016

The Goa government has increased the license fee for new land-based casinos by up to 2 crore rupees ($428,862) based on the size of the casino, local media reports.

The under-secretary of the home department, Neetal Amonkar in a notification issued recently said a land-based casino with an area up to 100 square meters will have to pay 3.5 crore rupees as a casino licence fees. Earlier, the government charged 2.5 crore rupees for the same area.

For those with more than 100 square meters, the state government will collect 4.5 crore rupees as a license fee from casinos, up from 3 crore rupees.

Similarly, those larger than 300 square meters, but less than 500 square meters, will now need to pay 5 crore instead of the earlier 3.5 crore.

Two new categories for land-based casinos have also been introduced: those with an area between 750 square meters and 1,000 square meters, and those with an area larger than 1,000 square meters.

"These categories have been introduced for the first time," a home department official said.

According to chief minister Laxmikant Parsekar, the hike in casino fees has been able to reduce the number of onshore casinos and increase revenue for the state.

In related news, the Goa government recently renewed the offshore casino license of Deltin Caravela, taking the number of active offshore casinos to five.

Earlier this week, the state government has opened up the possibility of a sixth offshore casino on the River Mandovi.

In a statement made before the high court of Bombay at Goa, the state government said it would favorably consider the application for a casino license renewal for Golden Globe Hotels Private Limited (GGHPL).

If the Goa government agrees to renew the license of Golden Globe Hotels, the total number of offshore casinos in the state will rise to six.

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