The Government of Nepal has introduced a set of new rules relating to sharing of information about gamblers, management of assets and monitoring for suspicious activities.

As per the new rules, operators of brick-and-mortar casinos are required to maintain a record of visitors and players at the properties. Gambling venues should also deny access to those who are believed to be involved in suspicious activities.

The new rules mandate that the casinos must inform the government and the Nepal Rastra Bank about wins or losses of more than NPR1 million within a 15-day period. If the gambling venues suspect that a patron uses suspicious money, it has to compile a report and notify the NRB’s Financial Information Unit within a three-day period.

Under the recently adopted rules, operators of gambling venues must submit reports to the Department of Tourism in every four months. The reports must contain information proving that the casinos are not used for money laundering. Properties failing to submit the required reports could face fines of up to NPR50 million.

The newly imposed rules also contain provisions relating to sharing information about customers, casino operators and staff members. If casinos change staff, they must inform the authorities about the changes within a 15-day period.

Melco Resorts and Entertainment has announced that it would focus its IR campaign on Yokohama and withdrew its participation in bidding for the Osaka Yumeshima location.

“‘Yokohama First’ is a plan that gathers a top-notch team of experts to focus on creating an IR in Yokohama city the likes of which the world has never seen. We are well prepared to carry out activities contributing to the future of Yokohama and to push forward the further development of the city as an international tourist destination. Melco is a suitable partner for Yokohama and its surrounding areas,” Lawrence Ho, Chairman and CEO of Melco Resorts and Entertainment said.

Ho Iat Seng, the new Chief Executive of Macau, has promised to protect the future of Macau’s gaming and tourism industries.

Speaking at a media conference in Beijing, Ho pointed to the “one country, two systems” principle and national security law as playing an important role in the stability of the city which in turn was vital to its ongoing prosperity.

“One can see that Macau has been doing quite well over the past 20 years in the one country aspect, including the enactment of a national security law. With such legislation, we can prevent interference by foreign influences. If they dare to come to intervene, we will make use of our law to safeguard the one country. We won’t allow foreign influences to have a hand in Macau’s affairs,” Ho said.

“Macau cannot afford to fall into chaos. Macau is a tourism city. Our major revenue comes from tourism and the gaming industry. We need to protect people’s livelihood,” Ho added.

Asked about the impending expiration of Macau’s six gaming concessions and sub-concessions in 2022 and the progress of plans for re-tendering, Ho explained that a draft had already been developed which would be refined and amended once the new administration takes over in December.