UP govt against gambling, no licences for Goa-like casinos

The Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday said unlike Goa it will not allow casinos to come up, ruling out legalised gambling due to moral and economic reasons.

Minister Satish Mahana made this clear in a reply to another BJP member in the state assembly. Harshvardhan Bajpai sought to know if, like in Goa, the state government will consider giving licences to casinos to boost tourism, increase tax revenue and prevent illegal gambling rackets.

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"No, a casino is a certain type of gambling facility,” the minister replied.“By giving licences to casinos, it will become difficult to prevent gambling, betting and lotteries legally.”

He said licensing casinos will encourage such activities and have a negative effect on people's “economic and moral condition" and on law and order. The MLA, however, argued that gambling is known to take place in the state during the IPL cricket season and people also go to Nepal for it.

He said giving licences to run casinos will generate revenue for the state when these activities are already going on illegally. The BJP government in Goa allows licensed casinos but in a recent order it banned local residents from visiting them. 

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