Kathmandu. The hearing of the case of Atlantic Recreation Pvt. Ltd. against Pvt. Ltd. is underway in the District Court, Kathmandu. Justice Kapilmani Gautam is hearing the arguments of the parties and the opposition in this case.
The hearing of the case has also been scheduled for Tuesday (Baishakh 16). It is said that a decision will be made in this case in a few days. 2 years ago, the District Police Range raided the casino operating in Annapurna Hotel. The Casino Police located at Durbar Marg raided and arrested 3 people. The arrested were Gaurav Chepra, Rishabh Pawa and Gulav Singh. The police had prepared a report including the 3 people and submitted it to the court.
The District Court, Kathmandu had refused to release the 3 people. The company had approached the High Court against the District Court. The Patan High Court has released 3 people on bail of Rs 1 million.
This case was dismissed by a joint bench of Justices Janak Pandey and Tikaram Acharya. In this case, the company has claimed that online gaming and sports betting are mentioned on page 18 of the SOP. However, the Patan Department has clarified that no permission has been given for online betting. If the company is cleared in this case, online betting will likely gain legal recognition.
According to the police report, the casino continued to operate even after the closure of Hotel Annapurna. The casino claims to have operated not only physically but also online casinos. The company, however, claims that it has only held online gambling licenses. But there is no law against online gambling in Nepal.
The then branch officer of the Department of Tourism, Narayan Prasad Bhattarai, had granted permission to Atlantic Recreation Pvt. Ltd. to operate a casino at the Annapurna Hotel on 13th Poush, 2074. But the police claim that the company was playing online gambling, which is banned in Nepal, even when the hotel itself was closed.
Nepalese law considers online gambling illegal. But illegal gambling is still being done. The verdict in this case is expected to help end online gambling in Nepal forever and help enforce the law that comes under the jurisdiction of the prosecution.
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