Every Other Goan Gambles, But Most Do It Outside Local Casinos

The Majestic Pride Casino, the Deltin Jaqk, the Big Daddy Casino, and the Galaxy Casino: the fame and glamour of these venues and the other casinos in Goa have turned the small coastal state into an iconic gambling haven and tourist destination for Indians and foreigners.

Currently, Goa has six offshore and twice as many onshore gaming establishments, all duly licensed under state law. The floating casinos, most of which are anchored along the Mandovi river or in the large bay in front of the capital Panaji, provide luxurious gaming combined with bars, restaurants, and onboard hotel rooms.

The land-based casinos are typically located in five-star hotels and resorts that host a number of other luxurious amenities such as spa centers, pools, dining, and nightclub venues, as well as other entertainment options like live music or dance shows.

Large enclosed hotel complexes featuring convention centers, cinemas, retail areas, and water parks, along with casinos, are being planned close to the new MOPA airport.

Goa’s rise as a tourist destination began in the 1960s, backed by beautiful sand beaches, old forts, churches and other historical landmarks, and tasty food. Nowadays, tourism in the state is propelled by gambling and generates around 30 percent of Goa’s GDP.

Goans Frequent Online Casinos Twice More Than The Average For India

Despite the presence of a vibrant physical casino industry close to their homes, Goans have been found to gamble over the internet twice as much as the average fanbase of Casino Days and the rest of the online real-money gaming platforms that operate in India.

The population of the small western coastal state is just 1.5 million, or around 0.1 percent of the Union’s population, yet 0.23 percent of the Indian online casino traffic is generated from the territory of the “Tourist Paradise.”

This can be attributed to various factors, not the least being the stay-at-home restrictions and the closures of public venues during the pandemic.

Politically backed bans for Goa residents to enter the local casino establishments, even not fully functional due to the lack of adopted rules, are also playing their part.

Illegal Gaming Is Also Prominent

A scientific exploratory study conducted in Goa between 2006 and 2014 with a final sample of 1451 men and published in 2019 in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry established that almost half of all Goans identify as gamblers and that illegal Satta Matka gaming was quite prominent in the state.

Half of the participants, or 49.9 percent, admitted to having gambled at least once in their life, and 45.4 percent reported current gambling behaviors, i.e., participation in gambling activities within the last year.

Lottery was established as the most common form of gaming, being played by 67.8 percent of all gamblers, while the second most prevalent game - Matka, was the most frequent, with 39.5 percent of players taking part in the illegal draws more than once per month and up to three times per week.

Gambling Legalisation Has Lowered Crime Rates

Regardless of the still prominent spread of illegal Satta Matka, crime rates in Goa have dropped after the legalisation of gambling and casinos in the state, as former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar reported to the Legislative Assembly in 2017.

The availability of studies related to the effect of casino legalisation on the spread of problem gambling and addictions is limited, but other locations in Asia, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, have experienced a decrease in the number of problem gamblers.

According to data by the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming, between 2001 and 2008, problem gamblers in Hong Kong dropped from 5.9 percent to 4.5 percent, and Singapore saw a lowering of their numbers from 4.4 percent in 2004 to 2.9 percent in 2008.