Goa casino operators face stiff fee hikes next month

Casino operators in the Indian state of Goa have been hit with serious fee hikes that will take effect next week.

On Tuesday, the Nahvind Times reported that Goa’s state government had approved a revised casino fee structure for the financial year 2018-19, which gets underway on April 1. The new fees apply to both land-based gaming venues and the floating casinos on the Mandovi River.

The fee increases are significantly greater than the increases the casinos faced last year at this time, when the casinos magnanimously refused to pass on the extra costs to their customers. But this time around, customers may not be so fortunate.

First off, any current casino operator wishing to renew his or her operating license will have to pay Rs10m (US$154k), up from Rs3m last year. The security deposit for renewing licenses has been increased from Rs1m to Rs2.5m.