Inside Asian Gaming

IAG MAY 2019年5月 亞博匯 50 COLUMNISTS (now raised to US$400,000) annual “casino royalty”, a US$100,000 initial casino license fee and a US$100,000 annual renewal fee must be paid, so it essentially costs US$600,000 to open today. The Nepal tax year falls on 17 July. Previous collection of casino tax and royalty ambiguities had led to disputes in the Supreme Court but this emphasis to get new legislation passed provides further confidence in future IR development. Nepal has a vision to welcome two million visitors by 2020, and China and India are it’s two key markets. IRs are now common in Asia and are testament to the sheer economic and tourism potential for Nepal. As the investment and legislative landscape now changes in Nepal, and if Nepal keeps moving forward in its current economic climate and can roll out its various infrastructure plans, this can provide an attractive environment for further IR expansion. *My thanks to Mike Bolsover and Madhukar Thapa for navigating me through Nepal’s casino regulations and government structure, and for the casino and IR insight they provided during my visit to Nepal. The Sunauli border crossing between India and Nepal 印度及尼泊爾之間的Sunauli關閘 正在準備《博彩法案2018》，並已經到最後階段。《娛樂場規 則2070》這法例在2013年7月通過及刊憲，當中訂明必須繳 交的年度「娛樂場特別稅」為三十萬美元（現在被提升至四 十萬），首次娛樂場牌照費為十萬美元，以及十萬美元的年 度續牌費用。所以，開設娛樂場在今時今日基本上需要六十 萬美元。 尼泊爾的課稅年度在七月十七日開始。從前在收取娛 樂場稅金及特別稅上的不清晰之處，令到該國最高法院需 要處理多宗糾紛，但這也令到新法律的通過變得尤其重要， 因而令人對當地未來的綜合度假村發展更有信心。 尼泊爾的願景是要在2020年迎來二百萬個遊客，並以 中國及印度作為它的兩大主要市場。綜合度假村現時在亞 洲十分普遍，並且是尼泊爾經濟及旅遊潛力的證明。 有鑑於尼泊爾的投資環境及法制情況的轉變，如果該 國可以繼續朝現時的經濟氛圍前進，並且可以開展一系列 基建計劃的話，將可以為未來的綜合度假村擴建帶來一個 有利的環境 。 *特別鳴謝Mike Bolsover和Madhukar Thapa帶我認識 尼泊爾的娛樂場法規及政府架構，還有他們在我到訪尼泊 爾期間，向我就有關博彩及綜合度假村所提供的真知灼見。