Nepal govt relaxes location requirement for casinos: report

Jul 08, 2019 Newsdesk Latest News, Rest of Asia, Top of the deck  

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The Nepal government has relaxed location requirements for setting up casinos and electronic gaming venues close to international borders, reports the Nepali media.

The Kathmandu Post newspaper reported that in a Cabinet meeting in late June the authorities decided to amend Casino Regulation 2013, in order to allow casinos and electronic gaming parlours to operate up to a distance of 3 kilometres (1.86 miles) from international borders. Under the original clause, such venues had to be at least 5 kilometres away from international borders.

“The government has shown flexibility by allowing casinos to operate at a distance of up to 3 kilometres from international borders in the context of the upcoming Visit Nepal Year 2020 campaign,” the media outlet quoted Ghanshyam Upadhyaya, spokesperson for the Ministry of Tourism, as saying.

According to the newspaper, a number of casino resorts are currently being built to serve cross-border customers from neighbouring India.

A high-level official at the ministry’s Department of Tourism, which issues casino and electronic gaming licences, said the department had proposed the new measure in order to boost tourism. “There is no logic in restricting casinos within a certain area or distance,” the official told the Kathmandu Post. “The key requirement is to monitor them properly,” he added.

The newspaper quotes another official of the Department of Tourism as saying that the department has been preparing a new Casino Act which will be part of Nepal’s new Tourism Act.

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