State officials have thrown open the gates of Goa, allowing tourists and guests to enjoy that state’s casinos and other entertainment offerings that have been closed since April due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Key tourism activities resume in Goa
The latest guidelines from the state government finally allowed key tourism activities to reopen starting September 20, five months after Goa’s tourism industry shut down to mitigate the effects of the COVID pandemic.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said, “The (state government’s) expert committee compared the (COVID-19) positivity rate over the last two-three weeks and it has been under 2 percent. In order to revive economic activity and tourism activity, casinos have been allowed to reopen on Monday [September 20] with strict SOPs (standard operating procedures).”
Key tourism activities include casinos—both land-based and offshore on Mandovi river—with several caveats: first the establishments can only have up to 50 percent of their capacity; second, they must implement COVID safety protocols such as the use of masks, sanitisers, and thermal screening, among others. In addition, asymptomatic guests and staff must be fully vaccinated against the virus, and that they must ensure 15 days have elapsed from when the second vaccine dose was administered.
A negative RT-PCR test result is accepted from guests, as long as the test is conducted no more than 72 hours from the time of entry to the casino.
Amid COVID, Goa should consider shifting to online casino
Casinos have become an integral part of Goa’s tourism initiatives, drawing domestic and international tourists to the stats. Currently, Goa has six floating casinos on Mandovi river, one in state capital Panaji, and about a dozen others operating inside hotels in the state. Needless to say, the announcement that the state is reopening is welcomed by industry stakeholders who expect that businesses will soon start to pick up as the peak tourist season sets in in October and lasts through March.
Nilesh Shah, president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa, said: “With casinos reopening, almost 14,000 people working in the industry will get a boost. In addition, the hotel in Panaji and in North Goa will also get a boost. Right now their occupancy is about 20-30 percent.
Given that the possibility of another lockdown is high as COVID-19 continues, industry stakeholders and state officials may need to look at next-generation revenue streams that will remain sustainable even during a pandemic.
Take online casinos, for instance. The pandemic has shown that more consumers are using technology for their day-to-day activities including playing games. In these times, players are opting for the digital environments of real money blackjack casinos and other online gaming platforms to get their casual entertainment fix, as opposed to going outside where there’s still a risk of contracting the virus, vaccinated or not.
As the analysts at ENV Media explained in their report on Goa’s casino communities: “The Covid-19 pandemic may have given the decisive push in many industries. While tourism stands to improve in Goa, its gambling fame might just be brought onto a new level with online gambling. Goa might push for more online gamers and next-gen revenue streams instead of pushing for rich tourists (and trying to discriminate against locals or humble desi gamblers).”
