Mumbai: According to a report, a casino being built by Daman Hospitality Pvt Ltd (DHPL) is raising Rs 35 crore from Madison India Real Estate Fund Ltd, a USD 150 million (Rs 698 crore) fund managed by Paracor Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd.

DHPL is building the casino at a resort in the Union Territory of Daman in Maharashtra. DHPL’s casino, which aims to start operations by the end of this year, will be branded as Fiesta and will have a gaming licence under the Gambling Act of Goa, Daman and Diu, 1976. The project will be spread across 40,000 sq ft and is expected to cost around Rs 375 crore, including a 200-room resort. The casino is expected to have 500 electronic slot machines and will host games such as poker, blackjack and roulette.

The resort is being developed and managed by the USD 172 million, New York-listed gaming, entertainment and hospitality chain, Thunderbird Resorts. Srinidhi Rao, Country Head, Thunderbird, confirmed the development. In India, casinos are legal only in Daman and Diu, Goa and Sikkim. The Private Equity (PE) investment in an Indian casino comes at a time when the global industry is facing depressed consumer spending and huge debts. PE deal flow in leisure and hospitality businesses, largely driven by consumer sentiment and discretionary spending, has suffered a steep fall in the first nine months of 2009.