Congress promises to ban casinos in Goa

The Congress today released its manifesto for the upcoming Goa polls in which it has assured banning all the casinos in the coastal state, including the floating vessels mounted with gambling dens.

'Floating casinos in Goa's river will be closed permanently,' reads the manifesto of Congress that was released today by Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia in Panaji.

'Those on the shore too will be closed at a later stage,' Goa Congress chief Luizinho Faleiro told reporters in Panaji in the presence of Scindia.

He said in the first phase, offshore casinos which are currently in river Mandovi would be shut and in the second phase, onshore casinos would be banned.

Responding to a question, Faleiro ruled out that such an action would affect employment prospects in the state.

"I don't think that there are much Goans working at these casinos,' he said.

Goa has six offshore casino vessels besides around a dozen of onshore casinos operating in five star resorts.

IMAGE: Casino Royale Goa, an off-shore casino on a ship in the Mandovi river. Photograph: Reuters