Nepal’s beleaguered casino industry is likely to be back in business soon, but operators are still concerned about new regulations and are urging the government to do more to attract much-needed foreign investment.
The government closed the country’s seven remaining casinos for the first time in their history in April after they failed to comply with new rules that came into effect last July. However, the move had a major impact on an already struggling tourism industry, one of the mainstays of the economy.
According to the new rules, casinos were required to have a paid-up capital of at least 250 million rupees ($2.6mn), with the minimum set at 150 million rupees for slot parlours, known here as mini-casinos. A new annual licence fee, to be paid to the tourism ministry, was set at 20 million rupees for casinos and 10 million rupees for mini-casinos.
Similarly, the annual royalty fee, paid to the inland revenue department, was doubled to 40 million rupees for casinos and set at 20 million rupees for mini-casinos and was made payable in advance rather than in arrears. Despite several extensions of a deadline for the casinos to come under the new regulatory regime, the operators failed to meet the requirements.
