Inside Asian Gaming

APRIL 2018 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 17 Despite India’s 36 states and union territories housing a combined 1.3 billion people, only three – Goa, Sikkim and Daman and Diu – have the ability to issue casino licenses and only two of those actually have licensed gaming establishments in operation. COVER STORY Casino gaming isn’t new to Nepal, having first emerged in Kathmandu in the 1960s in a bid to stimulate falling tourismnumbers, but the industry has undergone a shake-up in recent times after the government introduced strict new gaming regulations in July 2013. Under the Casino Rules 2070, Nepal’s casinos cannot offer gaming to locals, cannot issue credit to players and must pay annual license fees of around US$100,000 plus fixed “gaming royalties” of US$300,000. In return, there is no tax on gross gaming revenue. Casinos can only be located inside a five-star rated hotel, of which there are less than 10 in the country. One of those, the Shangri-La in Kathmandu houses Silver Heritage Group’s first Nepal casino, The Millionaire’s Club, which operates 18 gaming tables and 34 EGMs. There are currently eight operational casinos in Nepal of which seven are attached to five-star hotels in Kathmandu. The other, Tiger Palace, promises to be a game-changer for the region. “It is an attraction,” says General Manager – Casino, Kevin Willcocks, pointing to the Indian city of Gorakhpur – less than two- and-a-half hours’ drive from the border – as the number one source of guests. “The availability of five star facilities in Gorakhpur [is limited]. I don’t even know if they have any there, so coming here to an all-in-one resort with a nice pool, quality restaurants and lovely food as well as the ability to play in a casino … they would have to fly to Goa or another country to experience such a thing. They simply do not have it, except for us. We’re right on their doorstep.” Willcocks says that numbers are gradually increasing after a slow start, with the 28 December 2017 launch of casino operations hampered by heavy fog that saw Guatam Buddha Airport shut down briefly in January. Revenue for the first three months of operation – before the casino opened – totaled just US$117,000 but since then Tiger Palace real day-trip market with even easier access (no visa required) and unrestricted frequency of visitation to Nepal.” Also mirroring China’s evolution is a 10% compound annual growth rate in outbound international tourism from India since 1998. “People have suddenly begun to love travel overseas – even if it’s as close as Nepal or Sri Lanka,” explains Ranjana Adjikari, co-head of the Media Entertainment and Gaming Practice Groups at Nishith Desai Associates. “The fact that Nepal is so closely positioned, it’s very cheap to travel to Nepal and in terms of currency it’s a very good conversion rate for India.” An aerial view of Tiger Palace Resort