Casinos still in the game, get 3 more months in Mandovi

Parrikar empowered to extend stay for another three months

the goan I network | MARCH 28, 2017, 04:15 AM IST

PANAJI
The State cabinet on Monday granted a three months extension to the stay of the casinos in the River Mandovi besides empowering the Chief Minister to extend this period by a further three months in case the process of shifting them out of the River Mandovi is not fulfilled.
The decision was taken on the condition that the licencees would honour their earlier undertaking that they would move out of the River Mandovi as and when directed.
Speaking to The Goan, sources familiar with the matter said that the decision was taken in view of the fact that “abrupt enforcement of the undertaking would entail immediate loss of revenue”.
“The stay of the casinos have been extended by three months with the chief minister empowered to further extend their stay for another period of three months,” the source said.
The government has also claimed that it needs to be given legitimate time to to take a fair view on the offshore casino policy and hence a short extension of their stay in the River Mandovi was necessary.
While the five casinos operating in the River Mandovi have been given licences to operate for five years expiring in 2018, their permission to remain in the River Mandovi was only extended up to the March 31, 2017 and needed renewing.
In addition to this, the cabinet has agreed to grant permission to the vessel belonging to M/s Golden Globe Hotels Pvt Ltd for operating their leased vessel MV San Domino in the River Mandovi subject to the company meeting all the conditions stipulated for operating a casino in the River Mandovi.
Sources informed, that the issue of granting a licence to Golden Globe Hotels was hotly debated during the cabinet meeting. The MV San Domino would be the sixth vessel to be berthed in the River Mandovi and would violate an earlier cabinet decision to cap the number of casino vessels in the River Mandovi at five. However, the argument that the licence is only a renewal of an earlier licence granted to Leela Hotels to be berthed in the River Sal later transferred to Golden Globe Hotels as well as the recent decision of the Bombay High Court at Goa was offered as a counter argument.
The government is now expected to expedite the hunt for alternate locations for the casinos to be berthed.
The five casinos -- MV Horseshoe, MV Pride of Goa, MV Casino Royale, MV Boa Sorte and MV Royal Flotel -- all have licences to run casinos up to 2018 with the licences expiring between August 28 and December 03, 2018.

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