[NEWS]Nepal shuts down online gaming in the country

[acroman08]

I just saw this article while looking for some news about gambling. According to the article, the new prime minister of Nepal shut down the online gaming industry in their country. From what I understand, gambling was already banned in the country before, but now, the new prime minister has ordered telecom companies in the country to disable access to gaming/gambling platforms(I guess before it was just banned, but not ISP banned from telecom companies). Once the ban is implemented, the only way to access the gambling platforms is through a VPN or other means to bypass the restrictions. According to the article, anyone who is caught breaking the law could be fined, their devices will be forfeited, and face jail time from 3 months to 1 year.

Anyone from Nepal here? would love to hear your opinion.

On Sunday, Nepal’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MoCIT) directed the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) to “immediately close [all] betting apps and websites, including any electronic betting” within 24 hours. In response, the NTA coordinated with internet service providers to disable access to the platforms.

The ban was part of a 100-point policy reform agenda under Prime Minister Balendra Shah, elected on 5 March. With a following built on social media and promises of greater transparency in governance, the 35-year-old rapper and former mayor of Kathmandu won an almost two-thirds majority, handily unseated his controversial rival, KP Sharma Oli.

Shah was sworn in on 27 March. A day later, Oli was arrested for allegedly authorising the use of deadly force during public demonstrations in Nepal last September. During the so-called “Gen-Z uprising”, police killed at least 19 people who hit the streets to rally against government corruption. They also protested a ban on social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and X, which Oli claimed had not complied with government regulations. Those bans have since been lifted.

Curtailing the surge in online gambling
All forms of gambling are illegal in Nepal, with participation considered a criminal offense. Penalties include fines of of Rs30,000 (about US$300), forfeiture of devices and jail terms ranging from three months to one year.

Despite the prohibition, the government has grown increasingly concerned about the surge in online betting, with its potential for financial and social harms, especially among young users. Citing similar risks, last year Nepal’s South Asia neighbour, India, also banned online gambling.

MoCIT has promised “strict action … against anyone who uses or operates betting apps and websites unauthorisedly”.

[Hispo]

Ironically enough, all this won't stop people from Nepal to gamble on the internet or even in brick and mortar casinos which will work underground, all for the sake of money.

Nepal is a relatively small and under-develooed country, so it makes sense there are a lot of people from there who try to get some money from their gambling sessions.
There is a direct correlation between the socio-economical status of people in countries like Nepal and the percentage of their population to turn to gambling in order to survive.

I would not expect to see many gamblers from Nepal here on the forum, there are more people from America and Africa than Asia...

[Charles-Tim]

If gambling is allowed in a court before but later their government banned gambling, the government are only deceiving themselves because the people know what they will do to bypass the ban.

What the Prime Minister do not know is how offshore gambling sites will make the money more instead of local gambling sites. The citizens of the country will find way to bypass the ban, gamble on offshore gambling sites and be thinking that the government are only invading their freedom.

[lionheart78]

If gambling is allowed in a court before but later their government banned gambling, the government are only deceiving themselves because the people know what they will do to bypass the ban.

What the Prime Minister do not know is how offshore gambling sites will make the money more instead of local gambling sites. The citizens of the country will find way to bypass the ban, gamble on offshore gambling sites and be thinking that the government are only invading their freedom.

The government knows that some citizens will try to bypass the restriction, which is why it implemented the penalty and warning their citizen on the possible consequences of such action.  Now, I wonder how will the Nepal government track people.  How will they know that the person is engaging in online gambling.  Does the Nepal government has means of tracking people's devices? Or they will just rely on citizen report?

[Rruchi man]

~

Will suddenly trying to shutdown the online gaming industry work? Because I think there will always be those who are very addicted at this point, and they will seek illegal means to ensure they keep gambling. The government is simply pushing more citizens to crime.

Instead of trying to shut it down, they would have tried control and regulations.

[Hispo]

If gambling is allowed in a court before but later their government banned gambling, the government are only deceiving themselves because the people know what they will do to bypass the ban.

What the Prime Minister do not know is how offshore gambling sites will make the money more instead of local gambling sites. The citizens of the country will find way to bypass the ban, gamble on offshore gambling sites and be thinking that the government are only invading their freedom.

Actually, there are going to be a lot of off-shore casinos which are going to feel they are being wronged because of these new restrictions within Nepal, that is true. But in the end, casinoswhich dare to allow people from Nepal are still going to receive many monetary benefits by allowing them to gamble on those casinos, despiste of what Terms of service would say about countries where gambling is banned.
In the end, those casinos won't have to pay taxes on their gains and those nepalies who are lucky enough to get money out their good luck, won't have to declare anything to their government either.

[un_rank]

Ironically enough, all this won't stop people from Nepal to gamble on the internet or even in brick and mortar casinos which will work underground, all for the sake of money.

Regardless there will be players who will step back from gambling due to this. Lots of people will ignore the policy and keep gambling but there are people who will not risk doing something illegal in their country just to spin on slots. Some will step back because they know they risk not getting their wins if they play on a casino using a VPN. Even if you are told it is allowed, using it just to go around a regional restriction will spark alarm bells on many casinos.

- Jay -

[Amphenomenon]

If gambling is allowed in a court before but later their government banned gambling, the government are only deceiving themselves because the people know what they will do to bypass the ban.

What the Prime Minister do not know is how offshore gambling sites will make the money more instead of local gambling sites. The citizens of the country will find way to bypass the ban, gamble on offshore gambling sites and be thinking that the government are only invading their freedom.

The government knows that some citizens will try to bypass the restriction, which is why it implemented the penalty and warning their citizen on the possible consequences of such action.  Now, I wonder how will the Nepal government track people.  How will they know that the person is engaging in online gambling.  Does the Nepal government has means of tracking people's devices? Or they will just rely on citizen report?

There will be various means of verification or measures from them, just like how casinos can identify those using VPN to cheat. I'm curious how countries facing something similar cope overall.

One thing I know is that ban is not the most effective way to handle issues like this, a proper regulations would have been better with awareness of gambling addiction. We all can agree gamblers will continue and in fact some addicted can not necessarily stop because of this.

[Shinpako09]

It really depends on the person, but for me, even if there are other ways to access offshore gambling sites, I wouldn’t take the risk. Unless those methods are 100% foolproof and the government wouldn’t be able to track my activity, I’d rather not risk it. Some people might still continue, but I believe others will choose to stop. Maybe after months or years, if no one gets caught using those methods to bypass restrictions, some might slowly start trying it again.

[Fortify]

It's sad that the world seems to be trending towards more censorship and control applied by governments, because an open internet has spurred so much innovation over time. I have a feeling that being neighbors to China with it's "Great Firewall" also has a chilling affect on countries, because it normalizes this massive control. That being said, it's not limited to Nepal and we'll likely to continue seeing more bans like this being implemented, because it's an easy industry to target and get populist type support because it's hard for these companies to fight back. Frankly it's an education problem if too many people are getting hooked, but that would be blame directed at the government which they are seeking to avoid with such a move.

[Hispo]

Ironically enough, all this won't stop people from Nepal to gamble on the internet or even in brick and mortar casinos which will work underground, all for the sake of money.

Regardless there will be players who will step back from gambling due to this. Lots of people will ignore the policy and keep gambling but there are people who will not risk doing something illegal in their country just to spin on slots. Some will step back because they know they risk not getting their wins if they play on a casino using a VPN. Even if you are told it is allowed, using it just to go around a regional restriction will spark alarm bells on many casinos.

- Jay -

What about VPN friendly casinos, though?
They will see this as an opportunity to harbor people from Nepal who are afraid enough to risk their deposits on casinos which may ban them or forfeit their money because of the use of VPN or TOR.
If there is demand for services like gambling and betting, then there will be always some market to satisfy that demand.

Though, there will be some novice gamblers who would indeed stop their activities because of fear of authorities catching them out. People who are already addicted and accustomed to gambling as part of their routine won't give up on it so easily and fast.

[promise444c5]

lol that feels like no ban to me , just like more way to make money from the citizens.. If they truly want to place a total ban then they know what to do..

Whichever they choose doesn’t really stop gamblers from gambling if they want to.. it only reduces the number of gamblers and of course introduce extra cost and punishment for those caught by passing.

[Orpichukwu]

The government knows that some citizens will try to bypass the restriction, which is why it implemented the penalty and warning their citizen on the possible consequences of such action.  Now, I wonder how will the Nepal government track people.  How will they know that the person is engaging in online gambling.  Does the Nepal government has means of tracking people's devices? Or they will just rely on citizen report?

The government might want to rely on the network providers' information. When there are undetected places where a device has been visiting frequently, they can question the user or, better still, to make things more effective, they can move ahead to ban the use of VPN in the country.

But no matter how hard and how strict they make the law, people will still figure out a way to be gambling underground. Sometimes it seems to me when a ban is placed on something, that's when there is growth in the use of that thing; underground gambling growth will be at its peak.

[EluguHcman]

I usually feel terrify and pitiful for gamblers who may be of very high and intensifying desires for gamblers whenever I learns gambling states is being faced with unfriendly gambling policies where gamblers in the environs are restricted to gamble following these related occurrence of banning and shutting down gambling platforms because it would affect even those who are playing responsibly while the government mostly considers such actions as a means to rescue residents gamblers from loosing their self control out or addiction.

Using VPN to navigate the access to gambling can be so risky for users following the penalties for  defaulter and  the also face other difficulties when asked to pass through KYCs before they can withdraw big wins. That is if they are lucky to win that big.

[Odogwu-Blockchain]

I know there could be some stubborn gamblers in Nepal who wouldn't obey this order, they'll go a far as subscribing for paid VPN and go on about gambling, it's had always been like that and so it's never easy to ban something out of a country entirely. If some people are getting wrecked by gambling, some are also profiting.

The prime Minister shouldn't be getting this statistics and mindset that her citizens are getting burned out in the gambling industry, some are gaining a lot, so banning online gambling won't solve any problems.

[AmoreJaz]

I usually feel terrify and pitiful for gamblers who may be of very high and intensifying desires for gamblers whenever I learns gambling states is being faced with unfriendly gambling policies where gamblers in the environs are restricted to gamble following these related occurrence of banning and shutting down gambling platforms because it would affect even those who are playing responsibly while the government mostly considers such actions as a means to rescue residents gamblers from loosing their self control out or addiction.

Using VPN to navigate the access to gambling can be so risky for users following the penalties for  defaulter and  the also face other difficulties when asked to pass through KYCs before they can withdraw big wins. That is if they are lucky to win that big.

With the action of their government, it will just give way for the black market in gambling to thrive. Because like it or not, gambling is like innate to humanity. They will surely find a way how to go around with this restriction and so underground gambling may emerge eventually or it is already happening as we speak.

[Odusko]

Napal government have gone from paper ban to real enforcement, what you have to know is that, gambling have been declared illegal in Napal but the enforcement have never been implemented, but now, the government is taking enforcement steps by blocking all gambling access this is what total banned is all about and we shouldn't be supprise to see the country taking such a step as they have always pointed to such with they previous activities.

[Alphakilo]

Am not from Nepal but this is true implementation not minding the revenue stream gotten from gambling businesses, and even though VPN may be used to access these gambling platforms it would be a risk to have such gambling platforms on ones device while moving around freely because authorities may be forced to check devices just to ensure there's strict adherence to such ban being placed on gambling activities.

[Samlucky O]

I just saw this article while looking for some news about gambling. According to the article, the new prime minister of Nepal shut down the online gaming industry in their country. From what I understand, gambling was already banned in the country before, but now, the new prime minister has ordered telecom companies in the country to disable access to gaming/gambling platforms(I guess before it was just banned, but not ISP banned from telecom companies). Once the ban is implemented, the only way to access the gambling platforms is through a VPN or other means to bypass the restrictions. According to the article, anyone who is caught breaking the law could be fined, their devices will be forfeited, and face jail time from 3 months to 1 year.

Anyone from Nepal here? would love to hear your opinion.

I think the government of any country have the legal rights to take necessary action at any given time provided they are working for the betterment of the citizens. If the country of Nepal banned gambling but not completely from Telecom, and they decide to implement it now, it means that the rate of gambling activities has increased despite being ban. And perhaps people are boycotting the Normal procedure to do it their way, and this could only be the reason for this sanction. Using VPN to bypass this system may not still be ok because it poses a level of risk. Because if a Gambler uses VPN to signup without the country notice and it happens that problem of KYC occure after you might have win. How do such person withdrawal his money when KYC for verification is coming from a prohibited area? Such money will go back to the casino.

[JiiBs]

Once the ban is implemented, the only way to access the gambling platforms is through a VPN or other means to bypass the restrictions. According to the article, anyone who is caught breaking the law could be fined, their devices will be forfeited, and face jail time from 3 months to 1 year.

One use of this ban though, they just made the sales of VPN go up. Trying to drastically reduce the use of one service by directly promoting another, that’s what they just archived with this motive. Gambling is always very calling to gamblers and gamblers would always find ways to indulge in acts that have proven to be appealing to them. I wonder how they intend to track offenders though, going through citizen’s devices… that’s a lot of devices to go through and this would be one time to always clear logs.