Border casinos draw tourists—but rule-breaking, fake IDs and rising crime fuel concerns

Businesses say casinos boost footfall in Nepal’s frontier towns, but authorities warn of widespread regulatory breaches, money-laundering risks and political protection enabling illegal operations.

Business owners in Nepal’s southern and eastern border towns widely agree that casinos have increased tourist flow, especially from India, giving a much-needed boost to the tourism income and growth in the luxury hotels outside the Kathmandu valley.