Casino Strike Capable to re-open after winning High Court Actions

In India, the shuttered Casino Strike in the small state of Goa has reportedly won a Bombay High Court action and will now be able to re-open after down-sizing and paying a $1.48 million annual licensing fee instead of the $5.94 million that had originally been demanded by the local government.

According to a report from Gambling Laws in India, the casino located inside the Grand Hyatt Goa hotel is owned by Goan Hotels and Realty Private Limited and was recently forced to close after it refused to pay a licensing fee that had been hiked by local officials. The venue had purportedly argued that it wanted to decrease the size of its casino floor by around 70% to just over 3,229 sq ft and that such a move would see its annual duty drop to a maximum of approximately $2.97 million.

Gambling Laws in India reported that the Goan bench of the Bombay High Court agreed with the casino and ruled that it could re-open within three weeks of paying the much smaller fee and down-sizing, the application for which is expected to be determined in about one week’s time.

The local government’s recent decision to raise local casinos’ reoccurring license fees by as much as four-and-a-half times their previous rates has caused protests across the former Portuguese enclave and even led to a number of gambling venues closing their doors. Gambling Laws in India reported that the Bombay High Court is expected to hear a case against the duty increases early next month being brought by Golden Globe Hotels Private Limited’s Big Daddy Casino and had added its most recent decision to the coming petition.