The government has brought a new regulation for the registration and operation of casino business around the international border area. According to the regulations, new casinos cannot be registered up to five kilometers from the border area. Earlier, a limit of three kilometers was set. The regulation has given an exemption to the old casinos that are operating within five kilometers following the specified conditions.

While the bill to amend and unify the laws related to tourism is under consideration in the parliament, the government has issued 'Casino Regulations-2082' on 30th of June in accordance with the Tourism Act, 2035. With the release of the new regulations, the regulations of 2070 (revised 2076) have been repealed. An official of the ministry said that the new regulations have been brought as India has been raising the demand to remove the casinos in the border area towards Nepal in the bilateral security meeting. 

The Director General of Tourism Department, Narayan Regmi, said that the government may set a limit of 5 km for the new casino considering the sensitivity of the border area. According to him, the casino will be strict in following the rules set by the new regulations. "We will monitor, regulate and monitor whether the terms and conditions are followed/done/not followed," he said. Government regulation, surveillance and monitoring are weak in following the prescribed standards including suspicious financial transactions and physical infrastructure under the guise of casino business. 

Casino business has flourished in major cities of border districts including Jhapa, Morang, Parsa, Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, Banke, Kailali, Kanchanpur. Nepalis have already been barred from entering the casino. Its consumers are foreign nationals. Casinos in the southern border region are mainly visited by Indians. There have been cases where Nepali people are allowed to play in the casino with the connivance of the operators. Instead of regulating the casino, the police/administrative staff of the border area have been accused of ignoring it for financial gain. 

The paid-up capital of the casino operating company has also been increased in the new regulation. Provisions have been made in the regulations to require a paid-up capital of at least 30 crores for large casinos and at least 20 crores for operating small casinos. 

In the previous regulation, there was a provision of 250 million paid-up capital for casino license and 150 million for playing with modern machines. "According to the current law, the company operating the casino and maintaining a distance of three kilometers from the international border area after obtaining a license can operate and renovate the casino at the same location within 29 Chait 2083 by fulfilling the conditions according to the new provisions," said the regulation.  For the

company, conditions have been set, including ensuring the employment of at least 150 Nepalis in a large casino and 50 in a small one. In the new regulations, the application fee for operating a large casino is fixed at 15 lakh rupees and 10 lakh rupees for a small one. Previously, it cost 10 lakhs to apply for casino operation. The application fee was fixed at 5 lakhs for the casino which is played with modern machines.  For

licenses, a fee of Rs 30 million has been fixed for big casinos and Rs 15 million for small casinos. Earlier, there was a rule of paying a fee of 25 million rupees to get a license. 1 crore for modern machines. According to the new rules, big casinos will have to pay Rs 1.5 crore and small ones Rs 75 lakh to renew. Previously, there was a rule that 50 percent of the license fee should be paid for renewal.  It has been made mandatory for staff related to the operation of

casino to show one of the identification documents such as Nepali citizenship certificate, national identity card and driver's license when entering the casino site. In case of foreigners coming to the casino, passport with visa validity, Aadhaar card/voter ID card and ration card or any two ID cards issued by the respective embassy are mandatory. Records of visitors to the casino must be maintained for at least five years. Previously there was a system of keeping records for only 1 year, but it has been increased to 5 years.  It is said that for the payment of

winnings, the payment should be made only by deducting the incidental profit tax from the player. Such profit tax must be filed with the Internal Revenue Office on the same day it is deducted. In the regulation, it is said that the details of the person who wins and loses more than 25 lakhs in 24 hours must be given in writing immediately to the Department of Tourism and the Financial Information Unit of the National Bank. 

There is a rule that for the operation of a casino within five kilometers from the border area, the district security committee should recommend for the operation of the casino after evaluating the international border security. At least 20 trained security personnel are required at the casino site. No more than one casino shall be permitted to operate in one hotel or resort complex. 

Provisions such as 'walk through gate', 'metal detector', identity card, secure operating door arrangement, customer identification system (KYC) and report system to be submitted according to prevailing laws on prevention of money laundering have been laid down in the regulations. On the proposal of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Minister Badri Pandey, the Cabinet meeting on 23 June passed the new regulations. The government had registered the bill on tourism, which also includes provisions related to casinos, at the parliament secretariat on May 5. The Bill is currently pending in the National Assembly. The bill has not been finalized by the parliament and the government has introduced new regulations with strict provisions for new casinos. 

Negligence in regulation

Mechinagar-6, Kakdvitta After turning left after exiting the crossing, two bright boards appear - Happy Hour and SS Long Mini Casino. Both these casinos are just within 500 meters from the international border crossing. Casinos are more crowded with Indians. 100 to 300 people enter these casinos a day. 

is 18 km from the casino run at The Kingsberry in Birtamode. Vegas Casino at Mechinagar-8 is 5 km away. Biratnagar also has two casinos operating – Samrat and Champion Zone Casino. These are also near the international border. Although the Department of Tourism has taken responsibility for regulation, the monitoring of these casinos at the local level does not seem to be adequate.

A 'casino' has opened in Nepalgunj behind the Tare Hotel. Less than 5 km from the border area in Sneh, there is a casino called 'Happy Hour' in 'Blizz', Dreamland. Mahjong at Hotel Solty, Jackpot at Siddharth View, Lucky Star at Starlight, ACN Blue at Kalpatru and City Gaming at City Palace are operational. Three are in the process of being registered in the Department of Industry. Casinos have become a means of employment, earning Indian currency and a source of income for star hotels. The market of Nepalgunj has become active because of the casinos that have opened in the border area.

Federal MP Dhavalshamsher Rana has been raising the voice that Nepalgunj should be made a casino city. "Casinos have benefited many areas. We should think about how we can further benefit from this in the tourism sector,'' said Sriram Sigdel, a tourism businessman. Keshav Neupane, manager of Siddharth Group, says that adding a casino to a multi-crore investment hotel will make the business run better. 

Fortune City Gaming at Hotel Suraj, Golden Finger at Clarks Resort and King's Dialo Gaming Casino at Hotel Dialo are operating in Birganj. CMG Casino in Hotel Bishwa has closed 1 year ago. Clarks Resort is 7 km from the Golden Finger border. The other three casinos are less than 5 km from the border. Yuvraj Adhikari, the manager of Golden Finger, says that there will be problems in the operation now that the government has increased the royalty. 

A large casino is operating at Tiger Palace by Solti in Tilottama Municipality of Rupandehi. According to Rupak Gautam, Managing Director of Royal Tiger Recreation Pvt Ltd located in the five-star hotel, there are 600 employees. "Currently, it is a big challenge to operate a casino," he said, adding that the renewal fee was increased by giving a deadline of two days at the end of the financial year. This regulation change has made us more angry.' 

Most of the mini casinos operating in Bhairahawa's Chartare Hotel are within three kilometers of the border area. There are casinos in Nirvana, Maurya, Nance, Lakounal, Bhairawa Garden, Asian Buddha in Bhairawa. Dreamland Gold Resort at Manigram in Tilottama also has a casino. There is a casino at Chandrauta in Kapilvastu. According to casino businessman Amit Gupta, a mini casino has 90 employees per head. Pawan Goyal, General Manager of Hotel Nirvana, said that he was upset when the government changed the rules and fees without consulting the casino operators. 

King's Lunch Gaming Club at Hotel Saathi near the border area in Dhangadhi of Kailali and PMG Club Casino at Hotel Devoti are running. According to Sunil Shrestha, the manager of the casino operating at Saathi Hotel, 130 people have found employment there. Manager Rajesh Shah informed that 43 people are getting employment at PMG Club Casino. 

All the three casinos in Mahendranagar in Far West are at a distance of more than 5 km from the border. About 200 are employed in the CMG Club Casino of Hotel Opera, which operates 6 kilometers from the border. Hotel Diamond's Happy Hour Casino is 5.2 km from the border. 150 people are employed there. Hotel Roopam, 5.5 km from the border, has a Queen Casino, employing 150 workers.