A South African Indian businessman has plans to set-up a Sun City type casino complex in India and is hoping that the new government will allow such a development to proceed. Vivian Reddy and his Indian partners are in the process of doing feasibility studies and they are optimistic that casinos will be allowed at a regional level, and that their project for Haryana will get the go-ahead. Discussions with various local governments in India seem to indicate that there will be more casinos in India before too long.

At the moment Goa, the ex-Portuguese colony, is the only Indian state to legalise gambling. The state of Haryana is west of Delhi, in the north of the country. It is an inland state with no coastline but would seem to have the tourist infrastructure that is vital to the success of a casino operation. There is a network of 43 tourist complexes, named after birds, along the national/state highways around Delhi, and each February Indian crafts are displayed at the internationally renowned Surajkund Craft Mela. There are also other festivals that are popular with tourists.

Haryana is immortalised in the great epic Mahabharata, the second longest poem in the world. Land in the area is fertile and the state has acquired the name 'Green Land of India'. The industry is 80% agricultural but it's the rich culture and heritage that makes Haryana an important tourist centre in the north of India.

Vivian Reddy's partners in India are advising the government on the benefits casinos would bring to the economy of India. Job creation, tax revenues and boosting tourism are amongst the points discussed. They are confident that when concerns are raised they can find a middle ground to resolve any problems, and that 'indications are very positive'. The casino complex planned by the group has the emphasis on entertainment rather than gambling, just as its rôle model in South Africa.

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