Nepal's Casinos Facing Unknown Future

Problems arise for Nepal's gambling industry, a major attraction for Indian tourists, after two major casinos are forced to close down.

Nepal, despite its small size, is South Asia's gambling capital, with seven casinos in Kathmandu and another eighth scheduled to open in Pokhara city.

Nepal's first casino, Casino Nepal, was opened in 1968 by an uncle of the present King Gyanendra. In the 1970's an American expatriate, Richard D. Tuttle, established a casino empire in the country and now enjoys a monopoly over the gambling industry, as the head of the Nepal Recreation Center, which runs all seven casinos.

According to Nepal's media, Tuttle has close links with the royal family, who are said to have shares in the casinos. On June 16, he ordered the Casino Everest and the Casino Royale, named after Ian Fleming's James Bond novel which recently became a major film, to shut down within 24 hours.

Both casinos, each of them has around 800 employees, are run by Indian businessman Rakesh Wadhwa. Last week, Wadhwa was notified that his services were no longer required, after he reportedly fell out with Tuttle over the annual royalty of Nepali Rs.14.5 million that each casino must pay the government.

The casinos cut down on those payments because of a cash shortage that emanated due to the mayhem and violence in Nepal in the recent past, when curfew and shoot at sight orders were common, which hit the gambling industry badly.

However, since the Maoist took over the country when King Gyanendra's regime fell last year, the balance of power might have changed to the advantage of the casinos. The Maoist trade union said they will not allow the two casinos to close.