Lawmakers in Nepal put the full court press on the country’s Tourism Ministry to re-open four casinos that were ordered to close in April 2014 for not paying their taxes and not renewing their operating licenses. The closures resulted in the loss of over 10,000 jobs across the country. Worse, none of the 10,000 employees who lost their jobs have received any of their wages since the closures.
Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat initially said that the casinos were close to re-opening in September 2014 but nothing has come out of it.
It’s been close to nine months since the casinos were forcefully closed and the effects, according to some of Nepal’s lawmakers, have been drastically felt in the country’s tourism industry. The issue was brought up during a December 24 meeting of the Nepalese parliament’s international relations and labor committee. Details are murky on what happened but Nepalese newspaper Kantipur quoted one lawmaker saying the issue is becoming a serious concern now that Nepalese are beginning to travel to foreign countries to gamble because none of the local casinos are open.
It’s unclear how much of this strong-arming will compel the country’s Tourism Ministry to re-open the country’s casinos. But with the combination of government pressure and stagnating tourism growth, it would be surprising if the Ministry dragged this on longer than it should.
Sochi mayor discloses timetable for city’s turn into a gambling zone
Over in Russia, Sochi Mayor Anatoly Pakhomov has indicated that his region’s new gambling zone is set to open its doors in May 2015. While failing to offer specifics, the mayor said that casinos that will open in Sochi are likely to use the same facilities that were constructed and developed for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.
Pakhomov also said that steps are being taken to attract more tourists to come to Sochi, including the implementation of an open sky regime and a 72-hour visa-free transit.
