“ But for vacationers like Mumbai-based accountant
Atul Shah, a go to to a casino is a should-do.
Goa obtained three million tourists last
yr and casinos have change into a serious draw for
lots of them. Mr Munaf and Mr Vaz's 42-yr-outdated-son are among a disturbing rise
within the number of residents of Goa who've become victims of a gambling addiction. The government earns more than 1.35bn rupees
($22m; £13m) in taxes from the thriving casino business - this money, say officials,
could be very helpful at a time when authorities revenues have
dipped after India's Supreme Court docket banned mining in Goa final 12 months, depriving the state of taxes.
Political parties have railed against the casino
business, saying they have a "corrupting" affect on native tradition, but successive governments have used taxes earned from casinos to justify their existence.
When the current Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Get together (BJP) was
in the opposition, he said casinos were "criminal-oriented, prostitution-oriented and playing can not ship good tourism". ”