Nepal: increase in illegal gambling

Police in Nepal have made several arrests related to illegal sports betting and online gambling.

Nepal.- Illegal gambling activity has increased in Nepal as syndicates took bets on Euro 2020 and the 2021 Copa America.

Last week, police busted a football betting network run by five men. Officers also arrested eight people for organising illegal online betting in different parts of Kathmandu. Officers revealed that those arrested were running betting from social media platforms like Whatsapp and Facebook.

According to the Kathmandu Post, Senior Superintendent Chandra Kuber Thakur, Chief of Metropolitan Crime Division, stated: “Most of the arrests are made after police are tipped-off mostly by those people who themselves have lost the money in betting.”

Gambling is illegal in Nepal for local citizens and only permitted for tourists. Police have increased controls on restaurants and clubs.

While online gambling is also illegal, police can only arrest agents, as most of the websites are not operated from Nepal.