Indicating signs of possible funds related to crime and terror trickling into the Indian casino sector, a government report has said that more than 7,000 instances of suspicious transactions have been detected in the elite gaming business during the last financial year.
A total of 7,006 Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) during the 2010-11 fiscal have been reported by the casino business and allied payment operators to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), an enforcement agency under the Union Finance Ministry.
The casino business in the country was brought under anti-money laundering laws in 2009 and the operators primarily provide slot machines and electronic games to customers.
According to a 2010 report of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the top global financial body set up by G-7 nations in 1989 to combat financial crimes, India has just more than 20 casinos.
While Goa, the state with numerous sun-kissed beaches, has the majority of these gaming facilities, 14 land-based casinos (located in five-star hotels) and six offshore (ship-based), there are a few in Sikkim too.
Detailed news link: here