Report No. 276

(f) Sikkim

(a) Games of Chance

The Sikkim Casinos (Control & Tax) Act, 2002

5.55 The Act, 2002 authorises the Government of Sikkim to grant licences to businesses and individuals to operate casinos in the State. The Sikkim Regulation of Gambling (Amendment) Act, 2005, grants discretion upon the government to grant licences, authorizing gambling on certain days and making certain gambling houses legal.

The Sikkim Casino Games (Control and Tax) Rules, 2007115 are made under Section 18 of the Act. The Act and the Rules framed thereunder regulate games of chance played using a machine or instrument in five-star hotels. In July 2016, the Government of Sikkim, vide a notification, banned its local population from playing in casinos situated in the State.