Building a casino in India
There are many places in the world that are famous for their love of gambling and casinos. Your mind immediately goes to places like glamorous Montecarlo, or if you prefer a more modern setting, Las Vegas in Nevada. Of course, there are fans of gambling and the fun it can bring all over the world. Instead of building a casino in a place where the market is very saturated, why not try for someplace a little bit more unusual? India is a beautiful, exotic land with truly stunning local culture. It’s a place full of opportunity and definitely a good place to consider building your casino.
Since you are building a brick-and-mortar casino instead of opting to set up an online casino, there will be many rules and regulations that you must take into consideration. There are also many costs involved in the actual building of the venue and the setup of your association. In this article, we will take a look at the steps that you need to go through and the approximate costs that you can expect to encounter. There’s no such thing as being too prepared, so be sure to read the article thoroughly and save it for later reference. Now, let’s get to it.
Beginning the process
Because gambling laws in India vary from state to state, you’re going to have to take a careful look at the different laws and select the state that is the most predisposed to gambling. However, this means that many other entrepreneurs and casino owners will likely choose to operate their casinos in this state, so be prepared for a little healthy competition. For example, operating a casino in Goa is legal. Gambling is entirely restricted in many states, with the exception of things like horse racing and the lottery. Many people in India operate illegal casinos, which leads to a lot of dangerous activity: you want to stay well away from operations like that.
Looking at the Costs
Once you have selected the state that you will be operating in (gambling is currently legal in Goa, Daman, and Sikkim), you’ll need to look at the costs involved in getting your licenses before you can break ground. In 2018 there was a massive hike in all the casino licensing fees, and they still haven’t gone back down. There was much confusion at the time, with many thinking that it was a morality issue for the government. The price hike saw the licensing fees go up more than 400%. The costs went from Rs 10 crore to Rs 30 crore in some cases and higher in others- for offshore casino vessels, the hike was particularly devastating. When licensing went up, the non-refundable deposits that casinos pay to the government went up as well. Although the licensing costs went up in 2018, the gambling sector also saw an increase in profit of 73%. You will, of course, have to have your company incorporated in India to even be able to begin the licensing process.
Building the Physical Structure
In India, physical labor is very cost-effective. That being said, you want your venue to be built well and stand for a long time without any issues. You also want to know that you are compensating your laborers fairly for their time and effort. Building a 1000 square foot house would likely take around eight to twelve months. Depending on the size of your establishment, you will need to factor in more time. Use the 1000 square foot structure as your guideline. The average cost of a structure this size will run around Rs1,300 to Rs 5,000 per square foot, depending on the builders you use, the materials, and the location. Remember, you will also have to pay to have your building inspected once it is completed, so make room in your budget for that expense.
You should take care when selecting your contractor. You can choose to work on the basis of a labor contract or on the basis of a material plus labor contract. As the name implies: the labor contract means you are only charged for the actual labor, and you must source the building materials yourself. The material plus labor contract means that your contractor will handle the building and source the materials for you.
Stocking Your Casino
Now that we have covered the licensing and building costs, we also need to take into account the costs of stocking your casino with slot machines and table games. You might want to start out with some of the basics, like slot machines, poker tables, roulette wheels, and don’t forget that you will need chips, cards, and dice as well. You will also need to consider the refreshments that you will offer and decide if the cost of setting up a full kitchen is something you want to take on.
A deluxe 12-inch roulette wheel might go for Rs 4000. A lovely big poker table to host all of your guests might go for Rs 24,999. These are costs that you need to factor into your overall budget so that you do not get a shock when the bills come rolling in.
Wrapping Up
The costs that we have listed in this article are all averages at the time of writing. Please remember that these are things you will need to make a thorough inventory of before beginning your casino journey. You may even need to get a load before beginning, so these costs will all need to be included in your business plan.
If you are thorough and take care to dot every i and cross every t, then you will have no problems building your casino in India. We wish you the very best of luck and hope that your casino business is up and running soon!
