Tourism ministry says no entry to Nepalis in casinos

KATHMANDU, Aug 26: Tourism ministry that had vehemently been pushing for allowing affluent Nepalis in casinos has retracted from its stance and has instead proposed barring entry to Nepalis, according to a draft of Casino bylaw that the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has circulated to stakeholders for comments.



In a similar draft prepared by the ministry some one-and-a-half years ago, it had proposed allowing Nepalis gamble in casinos. But the proposal had drawn flak from the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Other ministries had also opposed the idea saying it would create anomalies in the market. “The new draft has fully accepted the line and incorporated suggestions from MoF,” said an official at MoCTCA.[break]



The ministry in June had formed a committee headed by joint-secretary Mohan Krishna Sapkota to draft the new bylaw to be forwarded to the cabinet for approval and endorsement. The committee also had representatives from MoF, industry ministry and the law ministry.



Members of the bylaw drafting committee told Republica that the proposal is no different than the existing provision. Existing law allows only people holding foreign passport to enter casinos in Nepal. But the law largely remains toothless.



The fresh draft proposes a new mechanism for enforcing the law. It proposes forming a special monitoring committee headed by chief of Tourism Industry Division to make sure no Nepali nationals enter the casnios.



"The committee will have representation from the home ministry and operate under new guidelines for effective monitoring," said the source. Besides, the draft seeks casino operators to register each entrant and also maintain CCTV records of up to six months, so that the committee could obtain the records whenever it deems necessary.



The draft, however, is silent on electronic gaming which is also getting popular as a ´mini-casino´. The previous draft had proposed allowing electronic gaming outlets to operate. But MoF had asked the ministry to shut down the electronic gaming outlets in operation and not to issue new licenses. But officials at the MoCTCA have opposed the idea of shutting down the outlets that have already acquired license. “Since we issued them license, it would not be fair to ask them to shut down their operations,” the source said.

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