New draft rules empower gaming commissioner to monitor casinos

Panaji: The home department has finalised the draft Goa Public Gambling Rules, 2025, to regulate casino operations in the state. The home department will send the file to chief minister Pramod Sawant for final approval before it is notified.

A senior govt official said once the casino rules are notified, the gaming commissioner will be fully functional.There are over a dozen onshore casinos and six offshore ones in the state. In 2022, state govt first drafted the Goa Public Gambling Rules to regulate casino operations in the state, and it was subsequently tweaked in 2023. But it did not see the light of day.“Presently, there is no mechanism to check the profile of the casino client and the source of money, whether it is from legal or illegal sources.

Also, there is no mechanism to check the amount of money spent by a person while playing at any onshore or offshore casino,” the official said.According to the proposed rules, the gaming commissioner will have the power to issue entry tickets and maintain a record of the number of visitors to a casino. Presently, the entry tickets are issued by the casino operators.“Next day, the gaming commissioner will be able to check the inventory to find how many people entered a casino,” the official said.

In March 2019, state govt appointed the commissioner of commercial taxes as the gaming commissioner, but since the rules were not framed, his duties were not defined.According to the draft rules, the gaming commissioner is empowered to exercise overall control over the games conducted in the designated areas and is also authorised to maintain the records and documents in connection with the games.Currently, casino licensing and collection of annual recurring fees are handled by the home department. Once the rules come into force, the gaming commissioner will monitor the casino operations. The proposed rules also give the commissioner the right to order closure, to seal any casino in a five-star hotel, or to take custody of any casino vessel if there are any violations, the official said.