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15 Vegas-style casinos planned in Karnataka

Could it be true? Can players from Bangalore and the rest of Karnataka stop having to travel only to Goa if they want to play poker and other casino games multiple times a year? Well, as per recent reports, life is going to become easier as a gambler in Karnataka as the state’s tourism department is considering beginning casinos styled like those in the Sin City, Las Vegas.

The move is being made to allow industrialists and other businessmen to explore new business avenues, while also to allow the state to rake in massive revenues. We all know that Goa is currently making a huge amount of their revenue from their casinos, both onshore as well as offshore, and the same could be duplicated here.

Tourists who come to Karnataka usually escape to Goa or even to Sri Lanka to experience such casinos, but that can stop now is these casinos are approved in the state. As per the tourism department’s proposal, 6 of these casinos will be in the capital city of Bengaluru, 3 each in Mangaluru and Belagavi, while there will be 1 casino each in Mysuru, Davanagere and Hubballi.

Tourism Minister CT Ravi is keen on having these casinos to boost revenues for the state, while also allowing businessmen to expand avenues. “We need to learn from cities like Las Vegas to attract and entertain tourists. Even today, international tourists who visit Karnataka fly away to Sri Lanka or Goa just because they allow gambling,” he said.

“Our idea is to promote Las Vegas’ model of gambling and it will be a restricted entry and will be set up in such a manner that it only attracts tourist crowd,” he added, which probably hints at the fact that locals will not be allowed entry, or they may have to pay a higher entry fee to gamble in these casinos.

While he announced plans for these casinos, Ravi also mentioned that the tourism department will not pump money into these casinos, but that they will all be funded by investors. The government will only make policies and monitor operations. For all further updates on this story, stay tuned to GutshotMagazine.com.

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