Casinos in the Indian state of Goa look set to remain closed for some time after the government announced this week a two-week, state-wide curfew until 7am on 24 May.
The curfew is the latest measure taken by local authorities to curb India’s crippling COVID-19 outbreak. There were 329,942 new cases recorded nationwide on Monday of which 2,804 were in Goa.
According to Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, the curfew is stricter than a lockdown that had been in place since late April, which had forced the suspension of operations for all non-essential services including casinos, hotels, bars, restaurants and tourism facilities. Under curfew, a far wider array of businesses must close, while social gatherings such as weddings, cultural functions or religious congregations are banned.
Tourists can only enter the state if they have received a negative result from a COVID-19 test within the previous 72 hours or have been vaccinated.
Banks and medical outlets are among those allowed to operate, with grocery and convenience stores permitted to operate for a limited number of hours per day.
In a filing, India’s largest gaming operator Delta Corp – which operates three offshore and one land-based casino in Goa – said via a statement, “Due to a surge in COVID-19 cases being witnessed in Goa, the office of the District Magistrate, North Goa has inter alia extended the lockdown and directed that casinos in North Goa shall remain closed until 7.00am on 24 May 2021.
“Accordingly, the casinos operated by the Company and its subsidiaries in Goa will remain closed during this period. We are unable to estimate the quantum of potential losses on account of this temporary closure and the pandemic at this time.”
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