India’s Delta Corp. to Replace Floating Casino, Plans Land-Based Goa Gaming Resort

Posted on: March 2, 2021, 07:10h. 

Last updated on: March 2, 2021, 12:06h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

India’s Delta Corp. is likely to replace its off-shore Deltin Caravela gaming vessel with a larger floating casino on Goa’s Mandovi River sometime in 2022.

Later in the decade, Delta Corp. wants to build a land-based integrated resort in Goa
The relatively small Deltin Caravela river-based gaming boat in India’s Goa shown here. It is to get replaced by a larger gaming vessel next year. (Image: YouTube)

The new gaming ship will set sail sometime next year, likely between 12 and 18 months from now. The vessel reportedly will cost about $20.5 million to build.

It is being constructed by Waterways Shipyard. Delta’s subsidiary, Delta Pleasure Cruise Company, has a 45 percent share in Waterways.

The new floating casino will lead to more revenue than what is now generated by a combination of the two other Delta Corp. Deltin Casino brand ships, the company predicts.

We have three licenses and one of our vessels is a very small boat called the Deltin Caravela, which is what we are looking to upgrade to a larger vessel,” Delta’s Chief Financial Officer Hardik Dhebar was quoted by The Times of India.

Once afloat, the new casino also will be anchored on the Mandovi River, the Times reported.

This is the second offshore casino ship built for Delta by Waterways Shipyard. The first vessel made for Delta was the Royale. It is now called the Deltin Jaqk.

Planning Continues for Land-Based Resort

Last month, Delta also updated information on its recent plan to build a brick-and-mortar integrated resort on dry land in Pernem, Goa.

The resort is planned for 100 acres located near the airport now being constructed in Pernem’s village of Mopa. The airport has been touted as a site where airline passengers could gamble before and after flights.

Delta’s proposal would include a casino, a 300- to 400-room hotel, other hotels, a water park, and theaters, the Times said. Land-based casinos featuring table games currently are not permitted in Goa. Just six offshore casinos located in Goa have table games.

We are going to invest in the hope that in the four to five years that it will take us to build the integrated electronic casino, the government will change the policy and the law and permit live gaming on-shore,” Dhebar said during last month’s investor conference, the Times reported.

As of now, the company has yet to complete its feasibility study on the project. But officials remain hopeful, despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Based on a wider development vision touted in 2019, some or all of the six floating casinos now on the Mandovi River in Panaji could be relocated to the airport complex.

By placing casinos there, gambling could be targeted to tourists, especially those from foreign nations.

Land-Based India Casinos Could Lead to Billions

Having Goa’s casinos move to a land-based location also could mean a major jump in gaming revenue. In 2018, Union Gaming Securities, a Las Vegas-investment advisory firm, predicted yearly gross gaming revenues (GGR) could top $1 billion if the casinos are moved to dry land.

Union Gaming has further predicted that if integrated casino resorts are open in India, a yearly GGR of up to $17 billion a year is possible. As of 2018, Goa casinos generated about $150 million GGR a year.

Delta controls an estimated 70 percent of the gaming market in Goa. The company owns four Goa casinos.

Just three of India’s 36 states have legalized gambling. In addition to Goa, casinos operate in Daman and Sikkim.