Bengaluru: From the Bangalore Palace to the Hampi Rocks, the Indian state of Karnataka is exceedingly rich in iconic structures and monuments.
Karnataka has the second-highest number of nationally protected monuments in India and ranks as one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. The state attracts over 200 million domestic and international visitors every year.
Karnataka has the fourth-largest economy in India, with a sizable percentage of its revenue coming from tourism. According to 2018 data, the state boasts 11.4% of the tourism market share in India. Only Tamil Nadu (20.8%) and Uttar Pradesh (15.3%) have more.
However, there is plenty of room for improvement. One idea that has been floated to improve tourism in Karnataka is the opening of brick and mortar casinos across the state.
Karnataka has all the potential to become an Indian casino success. It is located beside the Arabian Sea and bordered by popular tourist states like Goa and Tamil Nadu. The state has a population of just over 60 million and already boasts immense tourism numbers. It is a major pull for casino operators. Establishing casinos will also create more employment opportunities in the state, and consequently raise the standard of living.
Earlier in the year, tourism minister, C.T Ravi suggested the creation of up to 15 casinos, with six situated in the capital, Bengaluru. He spoke about copying the Las Vegas model and turning Karnataka into a casino hub.
“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”, Ravi said in February.
However, he received heavy backlash from the Indian public for his comments and had to do a quick U-turn just a few days later.
“…only expressed my opinion on how other countries promoted tourism … casino tourism is one such thing. I have no intention of developing it here”, the minister offered in his defense.
Casinos remain a very touchy subject in India. Goa, Sikkim, and the union territory of Daman and Diu are the only regions to have legalized casino gambling. The activity is banned in every other state, including Karnataka.
Gambling in Karnataka is governed by the Karnataka Police Act of 1963, which basically prohibits games of chance and allows games of skill. Anyone caught violating the law will pay a fine or serve a prison term. However, like most Indian gambling laws, there are many grey areas. The law is very vague on online gambling.
While the people of Karnataka are not allowed to own or visit gambling houses, there are no laws stopping them from playing in foreign online casinos. Most Indians now turn to online casinos like Royal Panda to fulfill their gambling desires.
Another problem with India’s gambling laws is the confusion between games of chance and games of skill. Some games overlap between both categories, and cannot be pigeonholed into one or the other. Games like horse racing, poker and rummy have been the subject of several court cases over the years, and all three have been ruled as games of skill by many Indian courts.
In fact, Karnataka has some of the biggest horse racing clubs in the country and houses many poker and rummy clubs.
So if you want to gamble in Karnataka, you can go to any of these clubs, or better still, visit any of the numerous online casinos to explore their wonderful options.
