Casino operator Silver Heritage Group has finally received the official okay to launch gaming operations at its new casino in Nepal.
Late last week, the Australian-listed Silver Heritage informed the markets that the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation of Nepal had issued Silver Heritage subsidiary SHL Management Services a casino operation license at the Tiger Palace Resort Bhairahawa in accordance with Nepal’s Casino Rules 2070.
The announcement brought an end to the company’s prolonged delays in opening its gaming venue at Tiger Palace. The company opened the property’s hotel to guests in September, and the casino floor was supposed to open in November. However, construction delays forced the company to push back the filing of its gaming license application.
Tiger Palace is located mere minutes away from the border with the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, from which the company expects to attract the majority of its casino customers. India has authorized casinos in only three of its jurisdictions, and Uttar Pradesh – the country’s most populous state with over 200m inhabitants – is not one of them.
Silver Heritage’s announcement said gaming operations had already launched at Tiger Palace, and the company was planning a major on-site celebration to ring in the New Year. The company is already at work on Tiger Palace’s second phase, which will add a second hotel offering around 400 rooms, boosting the property’s capacity to 500 rooms, along with a couple luxury villas.
Tiger Palace is Silver Heritage’s second gaming venue in Nepal, joining the Millionaire’s Club and Casino in the country’s capital Kathmandu. Silver Heritage said in September that it was considering a third Nepalese venue near the Indian states of Bihar and Sikkim.
The struggle to bring Tiger Palace to market took a toll on Silver Heritage, which was forced to issue new equity to raise the funds needed to complete the casino’s construction. The company also bid goodbye to co-founder Tim Shepherd, who stepped down in August for unexplained reasons.
