Goans will be banned from entering casinos in the state from February 1, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said. The state Sales Tax commissioner would be appointed as a Gaming Commission to formulate rules and regulate the casino industry.

A large number of Goans and several political parties, had been seeking a ban on the casinos in the state.
Goa has six offshore and a dozen onshore casinos witness heavy footfall of tourists and locals .

“I had assured on the floor of the House during the last Assembly session (August 2019) that Goans would be banned from entering casinos. We are going to implement the assurance from February 1,” the chief minister said.

The rules required for the strict implementation of the ban would be framed later, he added. “We are going step by step,” Sawant said.