Zoe Sharp
On September 8, a writ petition filed by a Delta Corp entity is to appear before the Bombay High Court for a final hearing. The Delta group hopes to receive a casino license from the Daman and Diu administration under Section 13A of the Goa, Daman, and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976. Delta Corp is the sole listed casino in the country.
The central point of the petition is the authorization of a casino license for “The Deltin” – a luxurious five-star resort established by a subsidiary of Delta Corp a decade ago in Daman. Delta approached the High Court in 2018 after the administration did not respond to its license application filed in 2014. The petition names the U.T. Administration of Daman and Diu, Administrator of the U.T. of Daman and Diu, and Director of Tourism, U.T. Administration of Daman and Diuas the respondents in this legal recourse.
Delta enjoys a strong presence in the casino industry with its two offshore casinos and a five-star hotel with a land-based casino in Goa. The company also owns brick-and-mortar casinos in Sikkim and Nepal, further strengthening its position in the gambling market.
Not long ago, fake news went viral on social media, stating that the Delta group finally received the long-awaited approval to operate electronic amusement and slot machines in Daman and Diu. The misinformation resulted in share manipulation. However, Delta promptly denied the fake reports and clarified the current status of their license application.
Delta Corp is Currently Working on Another Ambitious Casino Project at Dhargalim
As reported earlier this month by BonusInsider, Delta Corp Limited obtained environment clearance from the Goa State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), paving the way for its ambitious Rs 3,000 crore casino-integrated township project at Dhargalim, Pernem. Last October, the state government approved the project, which subsequently required SEIAA’s approval. This June, the development was recommended to SEIAA by the Goa State Expert Appraisal Committee.
However, the Goa SEIAA requires Delta Corp to comply with a list of conditions under corporate environmental responsibility (CER). The company must establish infrastructure for drinking water supply, sanitation, health, education, solar power, and others. SEIAA also ordered Delta to establish a biogas plant and ensure proper electronic waste management.
The resort-cum-casino project will occupy 90 acres of land near Mopa airport. It will offer three hotels, a cinema hall, a convention center, a shopping area, banquet facilities, a water park, and a kid’s play area. The project is expected to be completed by 2027.
The casino-integrated township project, however, has faced a lot of criticism from citizens and groups, with the most recent coming from the women’s non-governmental organization (NGO) Bailancho Saad. According to members of the said organization, the gambling industry uses sexualized images of women in its marketing. They also claim that casinos have an adverse impact on young people and harm the environment. But despite mounting criticism, industry experts believe that the casino-integrated township project will bring many economic benefits to Goa.