Goa has amended its casino rules to bar anyone under the age of 21 from entering designated gaming areas, while introducing an 18 percent annual penal interest charge on operators who delay payment of their recurring license fees.
Under a notification issued by the state Home Department, persons below 21 will not be permitted to enter designated gaming areas where electronic gaming machines, slot machines, or table games are installed or operated within a five-star hotel or offshore vessel. The amendments took effect immediately.
The notification also revised the definition of “designated licensed places/areas” to specify that gaming activities may be conducted only in segregated, access-controlled sections within five-star hotels or vessels. Under the revised wording, a designated licensed place or area refers to a partitioned, access-controlled space in such premises where the licensee is authorized to install and operate electronic amusements, slot machines, or table games.
Alongside the entry restriction, operators who miss the deadline for paying the annual recurring license fee will incur penal interest of 18 percent per annum on the outstanding amount. The measure follows disclosures in the state legislative Assembly that pending casino revenue in Goa stood at INR3.5 billion ($40.7 million), of which INR1.1 billion ($12.8 million) was tied up in court cases.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said recovery efforts were underway and that casino properties could be seized if operators failed to clear their dues.
Goa is one of only two Indian states, along with Sikkim, to permit casino operations. It hosts roughly a dozen onshore casinos located in five-star hotels and six offshore casinos operating on the Mandovi River off the state capital, Panaji. The revised rules apply across both categories of venue.
