Panaji: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said the government will soon finalise rules for regulating the casino industry.
Speaking to ‘The Navhind Times’, Sawant said the finalisation of rules for regulating casino operations has been pending due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The government had appointed GST commissioner as gaming commissioner on February 1, 2020 to monitor casino operations and to keep a check on violations of the rules.
The government has also banned the locals from entering onshore and offshore casinos.
However, even after appointing the gaming commissioner more than a year ago the government has failed to finalise the rules for regulating the casino industry.
The Chief Minister said that the rules will be notified once they are firmed up.
The file pertaining to the rules was moved by the home department to the Chief Minister’s Office twice. But it was sent back at both the times, as Sawant had sought detailed discussions on the rules before they were finalised.
In the absence of the rules, functions of the gaming commissioner have not yet been defined.
The gaming commissioner has not been able to keep a check on casino operations as the rules have not yet been finalised by the government.
In 2013, the government had announced that offshore casino vessels would be moved out of the Mandovi.
However, the government has kept on granting six-month extensions to casino vessels to operate in the Mandovi in the last seven years, as it has failed to identify an alternative site to relocate the vessels. Six offshore casinos have been operating in the Mandovi, while nine onshore casinos have been operating in different starred hotels in the state.