While Goa, the state with numerous sun-kissed beaches, has the majority of these gaming facilities, 14 land-based

casinos (located in five-star hotels) and six offshore (ship-based), there are a few in Sikkim too. Countries such as Italy, Brazil, and the U.S. are now looking at casino gaming as an important medium of generating income for their region. Beginning with Macau, the Asia-Pacific markets are planning to expand this business into their country in a big way. Ditto for Eastern markets, where Bally is re-entering in that market, both from the machine and the system perspective. Bally Technologies, one of the oldest slot machine manufacturers in the world, is looking at expanding its business international by setting up centres for both slot machines and systems. Casino gaming is considered the biggest revenue generator for any country. When the disposal income is more in a particular country, gaming will increase the spending habit and, in turn, increase the revenue of the state through taxation. During general economic recession, the casino gaming industry also saw a slow down. Last year, the revenue came down by 5 per cent. However, the industry sees revival through newer markets. Though the existing markets had seen a dip during the economic slow down, the newer markets are bound to expand and grow. For example, countries such as Brazil, Italy and the U.S. are seeing markets for casino gaming, says Mr. Haddrill. Bally has gaming and systems businesses going strong. Though it is among the top four in the gaming segment, it is the leader in the systems business. When the company entered into systems business, there were no other players. This has given Bally an edge over others. However, gaming, which includes making of slot machines, design, art, graphics and creation of games, generates the maximum revenue for Bally. Out of the total revenue of $883 million during 2009, nearly $630 million came from gaming; $220 million from systems and the balance from its own-run casino business. Gaming is still a revenue generating business in this industry. There are many new markets that are looking at this business in big way. In Macau, the slot market is still growing. The slot machines are used for the first time in many of these countries. So, the market for these slot machines will never go down instead it is bound to increase, he adds. Ramesh Srinivasan, Ballys Executive Vice President of Systems, says that gaming business is located in seven centres across the world. Chennai and Bangalore bring a major portion of gaming business for Bally. Similarly, systems businesses are located in eight centres across the globe. The two centres in India concentrate on both the systems and gaming business. The Indian centres also handle the R&D for the Ballys business, which is one of the 12 such R&D studios around the world and the only one in Asia. According to Mr. Srinivasan, Ballys system business is fast growing. It took up this business as a core competency, while other competitors entered the business little later in the market. Ballys system is the backbone for most of the casinos across the world. Ballys system is operating and maintaining the casinos back office operations. According to him, the Indian centres are contributing to both the gaming and

systems businesses. Out of 2,800 employees across the world, about 700 are located in India. The company plans to recruit over 100 people by the end of the year, he adds. The company is also looking at introducing Internet games in the casinos. Works in this regard are being done from these centres. While there are many international gambling companies planning to enter India, there are two states which have already encouraged Indian entrepreneurs to enter into the gambling scenario. Though this move opens up the gambling market a little for international gambling companies planning to enter India, there are still no specific ways in which these international companies can make their base in India. Some of the biggest betting companies in Britain have showed interest in running their own facilities in India for quite some time. That there is a market for online gambling and other betting games in India, is no secret. The illegal gambling industry of India is estimated to make an annual turnover of around USD 60 Billion. Seeing how there is enough to go around for all biggies in India, the high street bookies like William Hill and Ladbrokes are also interested in getting a piece of the action along with the other international gambling companies planning to enter India. There are other huge internet players like Bwin and Betfair, who have also been waiting to get their own chance at setting up something in India. These international gambling companies planning to enter India have had a long wait. However it seems that their wait might soon be over. Earlier in the year, the North Eastern state of Sikkim announced a bidding for three licenses for online casinos to international gambling companies planning to enter India. These companies have been given a window of opportunity to enter into a market which is ripe for the picking. By then end of the year 2010, India would have had their first international online casino operators, offering their services in Sikkim, and perhaps the rest of the country. While the ancient legislation of Indian Gambling Act of 1864 is still enforced, this is a window of opportunity for the international gambling companies planning to enter India. Offering services to Sikkim may not be very profitable as the states population is not much and the per capita income is also not much to boast of. However, in an event that the government legalizes gambling, even if with some statutory restrictions, the gambling circuit of India will fall open to the international gambling companies planning to enter India. This would be an advantage for the international gambling companies planning to enter India, who have already set up shop in India by winning the bids for opening online casino services in Sikkim. The demand for online gambling in India is apparent by seeing that 13 international gambling companies planning to enter India, operating online casinos in different parts of the world, came forward to bid. This means that there are many international gambling companies planning to enter India and that there is much demand for gambling within the country itself. For the licenses in Sikkim, bookies like Ladbrokes and 888 casino have also considered to bid. This scenario, despite the common knowledge that internet penetration in India continues to remain rather low, is something to be cheerful about.

The international gambling companies planning to enter India are also hoping that once the other states see the revenues and the taxes generated by these online casinos in Sikkim, they too will want to have increased participation in the online casino industry. The more densely populated and affluent states are therefore soon to follow suit. It seems that even though for the time being license holders will only be able to promote their services in Sikkim, they will get an opportunity to increase their gamut of services to the rest of the world as well. The government is trying to set a precedent by forcing the international gambling companies planning to enter India, to partner with Indian promoters and operators to launch joint ventures in the country. Though some of the international gambling companies planning to enter India, like Ladbrokes, are facing difficulties in finding the right kind of partners for this kind of an arrangement, there are others who have already made their partnerships and are ready to service the population of 1.2 Billion. William Hill, one of the largest online betting companies, with a large network of bookies, is one of those international gambling companies planning to enter India, that have found a potential partner in the form of Sikkim based Global Torrent International. Another peer to peer betting exchange company Betfair, is trying to partner with an Indian associate named Agilisys Managed Services. Bwin is another such online casino biggie, and one of the international gambling companies planning to enter India, who have found their local associates. Till date the only legal betting and gambling activities allowed in the country are betting on horseracing. There is not much scope for the entrance of international gambling companies planning to enter India in these areas. Some of these largest horse racing betting services are provided in the larger metros of the country, with the lead taken by the Polo Grounds in New Delhi. In the black markets, cricket continues to be the number one sport on which people from all over the world are betting. Illegal sports betting continue to be the number one attraction for bettors in India. With the promotion of these international gambling companies planning to enter India, the illegal outfits may finally be brought to the book. For one, there are more offshore casinos floating in the Mandovi riverfront of Goa than a few years ago. Today, there are 16 onshore and four offshore casinos operational in Goa. They did not target the scrounging Caucasian backpacker but went after the affluent Indian who has gambled before. Indians have always indulged in gaming abroad. Visiting Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore in large numbers, the urban Indian was always aware of this," says Hardik Dhebar, group chief financial officer, Delta Corp, which operates two offshore casinos, Casino Royale and Casino Prime. High-profile investors like Rakesh Jhunjhunwala have invested in Delta, a listed company. It is estimated nearly 70% of visitors to casinos in Kathmandu are Indians. A full-fledged on-shore casino, the first of its kind in India, is coming up at Mayfair-Gangtok a five-star deluxe property spread over 48 acres and owned by Orissa-based Mayfair Hotels & Resorts.

The company is going for a soft launch of the casino in Gangtok on Wednesday, something the hotel chains founder chairman, Dilip Ray, calls a dream come true. Unlike electronic gambling gadgets where there are no supervisors or gambling tables, the casino will have an almost entire gamut of live games roulette, black jack, baccarat, kitty, mini flush and poker. Players will be charged Rs 500 as entry fee. There will be 150 dealers at the casino. Food, drinks and entertainment will be offered as complementaries to participants. The games will be played at the gaming table and 150 dealers (casino staff) will be there to assist the gamblers. In order to avoid fraudulent practices, close-circuit TV cameras have been installed There are a lot of players in the country and there is a great deal of potential. The poker game is really catching up. A lot of Indians from Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and some from Kolkata visit Kathmandu for the live gaming experience. But no study has been done yet on the casino industry in the country, he said. Though the casino industry has been somewhat thriving in Goa, yet there was no scope for live gaming as yet. Players had to go offshore in Goa and then indulge themselves in casino and that too, play only electronic games, Ray claimed. We are going to ask for a casino licence in Goa as well, he said. It may be noted that the Public Gambling Act of 1867, a central legislation which prohibits public gambling, applies to all states, barring Goa and Sikkim which have their own laws that permit gambling. In Goa, an amendment to the Goa, Daman and Diu Public Gambling Act, 1976, allows casinos to be set up at five star hotels and offshore vessels, with the prior permission of the government. The Sikkim Casino Games (Control and Tax Rules), 2002, however, gives discretion to the Sikkim Government to grant licences to individuals or establishments for setting up casinos. The Sikkim Regulation of Gambling (Amendment) Act of 2005 also allows the government discretionary powers to grant licence to gambling houses of its choice. and dealers will be changed every twenty minutes, Ray added. GOA will soon have a new addition to its list of attractions. And it could be no bigger than a casino spread over 20,000 sq ft, thanks to the Rs 3,400-crore Playwin, the countrys largest online lottery company and gaming brand of Pan India Infravest. The company believes that this offshore casino will be by far the biggest casino operation in the state. The venture will not only target Indian consumers who go to casinos in Nepal, Macau and Thailand, but will also attract tourists who come to India. At the same time, the biggest casino player of Macau, Venetian Macau, plans to foray into India. According to sources, by 2009, international casino operators will make their presence felt in India through joint ventures or the franchisee route, regulation notwithstanding. According to industry estimates, the organised gambling industry in India is worth Rs 25,000 crore. At the same time, there is an equally big illegal gambling industry. Lotteries contribute immensely to the state exchequer in India. But it does tend to get a bit tricky when high betting taxes result in people resorting to illegal betting. The other deterrent is the

state discretion to ban lotteries depending on which political party is in power, remarks Playwin director & CEO Amar Sinha of. That, perhaps, explains why Mr Sinha is so keen on the high seas for the roll of the dice no taxes, no governments, no hassles. And those Macau-bound high net worth Indians, too, can be pouched much closer homes with all the pizzazz thrown in. Globally, casinos have added value to the overall entertainment experience provided by hotels and resorts. In fact, ET learns that Punjab, Sikkim and Puducherry are already in talks for allowing casinos in collaboration with the hospitality sector. Goa, too, has issued a few licences to promote offshore casinos. Every state government should understand the fact that casinos will immensely contribute to the exchequer and the funds can be utilised for social as well as infrastructure projects, opines Mr Sinha. As for Venetian Macau, the hotel-cum-resort casino chain, is already planning a strategy to enter the India market. The Venetian is well established in Macau with 3,000 suites, 850 gambling tables and 4,100 slot machines. For the record, Macau is the gambling den of the world, having overtaken Las Vegas last year in terms of casino revenue generation. The city has around 11,510 slot machines and 3,992 gaming tables. dheeraj.tiwari@timesgroup.com BET ON! The Playwin offshore casino will be the biggest casino operation in the state The venture will not only target Indian consumers who go to casinos in Nepal, Macau and Thailand, but will also attract tourists who come to India The organised gambling industry in India is worth Rs 25,000 crore Macau is the gambling den of the world, having overtaken Las Vegas last year in terms of casino revenue generation By 2009 , international casino operators will make their presence felt in India through joint ventures or the franchisee route, regulation notwithstanding But despite its name, the festival is not really open to the world since only Indian nationals can participate. All winnings are paid after deducting taxes as per Indian laws, making it impossible for foreigners to. Participants have to be at least 18 years or older. They will get to try their gambling hand at roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat and poker variations including Texas Holdem and Indian Flush. Though gambling remains a taboo in society, it is legal in two Indian states: Goa and the northeastern state of Sikkim. Goa set up its first casino in 1993 and now has around 21, mostly in five-star hotels, says Xavier Vaz, director of Goan Carnival & Leisure Pvt., a company that which manages Casino Carnival, housed in Goas Marriott hotel. In Goa, live gambling is not allowed on land. This is why its casinos are housed in boats, most of which float on waterways that run along the states largest town. Sikkim legalized casinos more recently. Today, the whole casino industry in Goa generates revenue worth 2 billion rupees ($41 million), says Mr. Vaz. Thats a very small amount, especially considering that in Macau, one of the worlds biggest gambling hubs, the revenue for the month of July alone was around $3 billion dollars. But the event will hardly be a game-changer for Indias nascent casino industry. Organizers set a modest target of having around 400 participants and were struggling to achieve it. The people who registered mostly included men over the age of 25 and with high disposable income, says Narinder Punj, managing director at the entertainment unit of Delta Corp., the company that runs Goas Casino Royale. Not enough of them seemed to be drawn to the event. To attract more

participants, organizers even slashed the registration fee from 100,000 rupees ($2053) to just 20,000 rupees. The remaining 80,000 rupees still have to be paid, but at the festival itself. Despite the small numbers, casino operators believe the gaming festival will be good for the gambling industry, since Goa is where most of Indias casinos are based. Indians love to gamble, says Mr. Vaz of Casino Carnival. However, Casino Carnival only gets around a hundred visitors a day. These are mostly businessmen from Delhi, Ahmedabad and Mumbai, says Mr. Vaz. One of the reasons for the low attendance is the high entry fee, says Mr. Vaz. The government has prescribed a fee of as much as 2,000 rupees ($40) per individual, to enter a casino. Also, not everyone likes gambling on floating casinos. Some people dont like gaming on boats. It also becomes difficult during monsoons, says Mr. Vaz. Mr. Vaz thinks the government should do more to help the industry grow. Instead of letting them gamble abroad and lose money, the government should support the industry here, he adds. Removing the minimum entry fee would be a good start, he says. Compare Goa to Singapore: the casino industry has been booming in the city-state ever since it was legalized there in early 2010. But for India, that still seems like a distant dream. The casino gaming industry is in its infancy in India, says Tango Wangyal, partner at Casino Sikkim at the Royal Plaza hotel. Casino Sikkim opened in 2009 and was the first casino in the state Sikkim. He thinks that Goas World Gaming Festival weekend is a positive for this industry, and will inspire other Indian casinos to follow. We will surely be having one (in Sikkim), says Mr. Wangyal.