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
P58 NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA
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.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110
