Te State of Sikkim legalised gambling in 2009 in bid to lure visitors and investors to this mountainous region and it is the only State to date to offer landbased casino gambling (table and slots) whilst Goa can offer such games only on offshore vessels and electronic casinos onshore. It is also the only Indian State to offer online gaming and sports betting even if this is through intranet gaming parlours.
Sikkim, known as the kingdom of flowers, is a landlocked State located in the eastern Himalayas bordering Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and West Bengal and is located just below Mount Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world.
It has around 610,000 inhabitants and is the least populous State in India and the second smallest State after Goa in terms of total area. It is however a popular tourist destination due to its culture, scenery and biodiversity. It also has the only open land border between India and
China and is the only State with an ethnic Nepali majority. Its economy today is dependent largely on agriculture and tourism.
Tere are three casinos here:
Casino Sikkim was the first casino in Sikkim and was launched at the 72 room Hotel Royal Plaza in March 2009. As the pilot project was exempt from the five star hotel rule it was housed in a three star property (which was to be later upgraded to a five star) and run by Teesta Rangit Private Ltd (TRPL).
It has 15 slots and five table games. Te hotel is run by Sarovar Hotels and Resorts.
Te second casino, Casino Mahjong, opened back in 2011 and is owned by Trio Ventures Private Limited and located at the Mayfair Spa and Resorts on the outskirts of Gangtok.
Te Deltin Denzong opened in 2017 and is located in the Denzong Regency and operated by the Deltin Group. Te casino has 200 gaming positions in a gaming area of more than 15,000sq.ft. Te casinos all have a cover charge which varies depending on the casino.
Tere’s no financial data but estimations say around Rs20 crore a year is handed over the Sikkim State from the three casinos.
Sikkim wants to attract more casino high rollers
as gambling has been off limits for locals since 2016 when the Sikkim Casinos (Control and Tax) Rules banned locals from entering and playing in casinos.
But the problem has always been connectivity. As a landlocked area the National highway is the only road which connects this mountainous area to the rest of India and the Pakyong Airport, about 33km east of Gangtok, only opened in September 2018 and has not been the solution the State originally hoped for.
Pakyong Airport finally opened some nine years after the first foundation stone was laid. It is Sikkim’s first and India’s 100th airport. Located on top of a hill, 4,600ft above sea level, it was constructed by the Airports Authority of India and is only about 60km from the Indo-China border.
Previously visitors had a tedious 125km journey (five hour drive) from Bagdogra which was the nearest airport in West Bengal or Paro Airport in
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Bhutan. But the airport is still not fully functioning. In June last year SpiceJet, the airport’s sole airline providing commercial passenger services, ceased the once a day Kolkata-Pakyong route citing ‘operational constraints’.
SpiceJet is an Indian low cost airline and the second largest in the country operating 628 daily flights to 63 destinations. It suspended flights in June last year to Pakyong “until further notice” due to “unpredictable weather resulting in low visibility and hampering flight operations.” Te monsoon season was expected to aggravate the situation.
SpiceJet was initially awarded two routes for Pakyong – one from Kolkata and one from Delhi (which was never launched) in August 2018.
Sikkim’s new Chief Minister of Sikkim, Prem Singh Tamang, is now calling for further changes to help visitors access the State. He is requesting a 200km highway to be built between
Kalimpong and Siliguri whilst trying to open the railway between Seboke and Rangpo.
Meanwhile the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Act was passed in 2008 to regulate online gambling and as such became the first State in India to do so.
Te law recently amended in 2015 restricts the offering of online games and sport games within the State and via physical game parlours.
In 2016 Golden Gaming International obtained a licence to operate online gaming (poker) and sports betting in the State and the situation is now a little out of control. Golden Gaming now runs three gaming parlours, two in Gangtok and a third in Rangpo.
Tere are stories of “rampant” betting, vandalism and big social problems in Gangtok and there is talk of banning locals now from betting. Tis would require an amendment to the Sikkim Online Gaming (Regulation) Act.
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