Goa puts its money on casinos

Goa’s state government proposed the casinos as India posted a 13 per cent rise in tourist arrivals to 3.91 million in the fiscal year ended March 2006 and the government earned $6bn (£4bn) - the third largest source of foreign exchange.

“That means more quality tourists are coming to our country and we in Goa would like to cash in on this trend,” said Ernest Dias, vice president of Goa’s Travel and Tourism Association.

“These new offshore casinos will bring premium tourists here,” he said, predicting that the former Portuguese colony’s Calangute beachfront would see an explosion in foreign visitors.

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