Proud to be a Sikkimese: Sikkim Travel, Culture & Local Heritage

Sanjeev Choudhary, TNN NEW DELHI: India’s great gamblers won’t need to hotfoot it to casino capitals like Macao or Monaco (or closer home, even Kathmandu) for a quick turn at the roulette table or a hand of baccarat or black jack. For that, look to Gangtok, which is set to literally hit the jackpot. The country’s biggest real estate developer DLF and hospitality chain Sarovar Hotels & Resorts are on course to separately set up the country’s first inland casinos in Sikkim’s capital. The Sikkim government, which has been looking to turn the state into a tourist hotspot, passed the Sikkim Casino Games Act in 2004, making casino operations legal. And it framed casino rules last year. Incidentally, Sikkim is the only state to have legalised casinos after Goa, which has a legal casino—Casino Goa—located offshore in capital Panaji. This casino is located on a yacht, anchored on the Mandovi river. DLF offshoot DLF Hotel Holdings has signed an MoU with the Sikkim gover...

Gangtok, 15 May: Paving a way to set up casinos in Sikkim, the state government have notified The Sikkim Casino Games (Control and Tax) Rules, 2007, in its official gazette which will now facilitate the setting up of casinos in the state. Sikkim will become the second state after Goa to allow the operation of casinos in the country. While strict norms have been laid down to open a casino in the state, desirous parties shall need to have a five-star category of facilities and infrastructures. Besides, they also would be required to produce a 'no-objection certificate' from the health, energy, power and fire services department.