Nepal govt introduces casino laws

The government has decided to maintain the casino laws attached to the Tourism Act.

Nepal.- The government of Nepal has faced critics over the last two months after it announced that a bill to regulate the casino industry would not get its own Act and instead would be attached to the Tourism Act. Now, it has confirmed that it will stand by that decision.

As the Kathmandu Post reported, Tourism Secretary Krishna Prasad Devkota, said: “We will bring the Casino Act, but not separately. We are currently discussing the issue. As per the plan, the casino law will come out as an annex to the Tourism Act that the government is currently drafting.” Casinos are currently under the Casino Regulation 2013, but the government believes that it is necessary to pass a new scheme.

The Ministry had the intention to submit a draft Casino Bill 2018 to the Cabinet for approval in June, but the plans were cancelled and the laws ended up being attached to the Tourism Act. “As the ministry wants to integrate the casino law into the new Tourism Act, the plan to enact a separate piece of legislation may have been cancelled,” said Ministry officials.

Tourism executives believe that without a separate Act the industry risks not attracting foreign investment and address potential risks. They fear that if the casino law is weak, it will negatively impact on the tourism industry as well.