“Disappointment” to local businesses
The Nepal government has backed off plans to create a formal Casino Act, and will instead add industry regulations to a local Tourism Act. In June the government pledged to enact industry-specific regulations to bring in global investors, reported the Kathmandu Post.
According to Tourism Secretary Krishna Prasad Devkota, “We will bring the Casino Act, but not separately. As per the plan, the casino law will come out as an annex to the Tourism Act that the government is currently drafting.”
A casino bill was first considered when local casinos failed to pay taxes, the Post reported. Those “casino royalty irregularities” add up to Rs1.25 billion (US$11.4 million) with about 12 casinos currently operating illegally as a result.
According to Nepal Sansar, the government’s decision comes as a disappointment to businesspeople who wanted to see major investment by gaming operators in the country. Those businesspeople feel that lack of a separate law for casinos will limit the industry’s potential in bringing in international operators. A separate Casino Act, said a Department of Tourism official, would “regulate the casinos in a more managed way and protect the investment of foreign investors.”
