KATHMANDU, July 9: The government is all set to introduce a number of regulatory procedures for the casino sector in order to curb possible malpractices in the business.
An official at the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) told Republica that along with casinos, the ministry is also planning to introduce regulatory framework for gaming club and spa.
Laxman Bhattarai, Spokesperson for MoTCA said they have been constantly receiving complaints about a number of malpractices prevalent in the casino business. “We have realized the necessity of close monitoring and this is why the ministry is planning to introduce a set of regulations,” Bhattarai said.
Currently, Nepal Police has been keeping a tab on such unscrupulous activities but as per the Gambling Act their mandate is limited to restricting the entry of Nepali citizens into the casinos.
The new procedures would set a number of standards, including maintaining international standard service quality, Bhattarai told Republica.
Similarly, we are also planning to introduce separate regulations for health club and spa, as both of them have lately emerged as popular businesses in the city areas. Once the regulations come into effect, tourism related service sectors like travel agencies, trekking agencies and hotel sector, would also come under its purview.
Nepal´s casinos were a popular destination for high spending Indian tourists a few years ago. However, after the establishment of casinos in Goa of India, the attraction towards Nepal´s casinos has dropped sharply.
Currently, there are 10 casinos in operation in Kathmandu and Pokhara, with each casino paying 20 million rupees as royalty to the government.
As the number of the casino-bound Indian tourists decline, resulting in a steep decline in casino´s income, local casinos have starting lobbying for amendment in the law that bars Nepali citizen from gambling in the casinos in Nepal.
A casino entrepreneur said since 80 percent of the total income of the casinos comes from local customers, it is high time that the government remove the restriction, he told Republica on the condition of anonymity. He highlighted the contribution the casinos have made in terms of national revenue and employment generation.
However, MoTCA Spokesperson Bhattarai ruled out any possibility of amending the law to allow Nepali to gamble in the casinos. Allowing Nepali citizens in casinos would mean inviting economic and social problem for them,” added Bhattarai.
Source: http://www.myrepublica.com/portal/index.php?action=news_details&news_id=20796
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