Following the almost bloodless revolution in Nepal last April, there is a new sense of freedom. King Gyanendra was forced to relinquish his once sacred powers and authority was returned to the elected parliament he had dissolved. The tourists are returning to Kathmandu and the gaming industry continues to expand, there now being seven casinos operated by the Nepal Recreation Centre (NRC) within a 28-mile radius of the city.

Last August the Maoist affiliated All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union submitted a 14-point demand to casino management that all foreign employees be removed, requiring higher paid Indian nationals to leave and be replaced by Nepalese staff. The Maoists, part of the interim government working under the interim constitution adopted last November, have agreed to lay down their arms and work within a Parliamentary democracy.

The NCR began as a partnership between an American, R D Tuttle, and an Indian Rakesh Wadhwa from New Delhi who has become known as Nepal’s casino king. Thousands of Indian gamblers play in Kathmandu, and a share of gaming revenues is paid to both the government and the royal palace. The Maoist trade union, increasingly prominent in commercial and industrial affairs, has lately caused the casinos to decrease the substantial payments made to the royal household. In reaction the palace has reportedly pressured Tuttle into firing Wadhwa, a move that has apparently not met with the approval of other labour unions in at least three of the casinos.

The casino king, who heads the NCR, has so far not commented on the situation. Casinos have been operating in Nepal for 30 years and the royal family are stakeholders in several. The casinos are now supposedly only for foreign players and in February 2005 the Tourism Industry Division of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation formulated a draft bill for casino regulation. With government sackings, revolutions and new constitutions, it is hardly surprising that there has been as yet little advance on the bill. (E-01.10.07)

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