It was announced that the government of Nepal is going to finally give the nod to Hong Kong-based gaming operator Silver Heritage Ltd. to run the so-called Shangri-La Casino, located within the premises of the Shangri-La Hotel & Resort in Kathmandu.
The Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation stated that Silver Heritage will be issued a license for the operation of the above-mentioned gambling venue within the next two weeks. The operator is to work in a collaboration with a local company.
A few days ago, the regulatory body issued a special pre-approval, which said that Silver Heritage should prepare the casino for its re-launch.
Tulasi Gautam, director of the Nepali Department of Tourism, pointed out that a committee was appointed to prepare a special manual that will explain operators how they need to run their venues. Once the manual is ready, Silver Heritage will be issued its license.
At present, regulators are also discussing the implementation of a new casino regulation.
Not long ago, Hong Kong-based company Silver Heritage submitted a proposal to the Department of Tourism, in which it stated that it plans to invest more than NPR1 billion in its Kathmandu project. The operator runs a number of casinos in Vietnam, India, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Shangri-La Casino was previously operated by Malaysian company Star Management. The venue, however, was closed due to labor unrest.
The gambling venues in Nepal were seriously affected by the regulation that came into effect in July 2013. Under that law, casinos needed to have at least NPR250 million in paid-up capital. What is more, they were required to annually pay a royalty amounting to NPR40 million. Gambling operators stated that the taxes were way too high and would severely impact their businesses. Due to this, regulators decreased the royalty amount to NPR30 million back in 2014.
Mr. Gautam stated that although operators are still not particularly happy with the paid-up capital requirement and the royalty, the department does not consider any changes in the current tax regulation.
It was also announced that the operator of Everest Casino, located within the premises of Hotel Everest, has shown interest in re-opening the venue. A gambling venue in Soaltee is also expected to resume operations. Mr. Gautam shared that operators were asked to apply for licenses under the new casino law.
Back in April 2014, the government of Nepal declared all gambling venues on the territory of the country illegal as they refused to pay their royalty and to apply for licenses under the new regulation. It was estimated that more than 3,500 people were left unemployed, due to the closures.
