Some casinos have reportedly already resumed operations in Nepal after being shut for about 18 months due to restrictions imposed by the government on the COVID-19 pandemic.
"More than six casinos" are operating and others are "gradually reopening," said Surya Bahadur Kunwar, head of the Central Committee of Nepal's independent hotels, casinos and restaurant trade unions.
Tourism Ministry spokesman Taranath Adhikari confirmed casinos in the country have been allowed to resume operations.
The administration in charge of the valley surrounding Nepal's capital, Kathmandu, decided on Sept. 1 to allow "business and social activities" to resume if health and safety protocols were followed, the Kathmandu Post reported, citing Adhikari.
Several casinos applied to reopen as soon as Nepal's second lockdown was lifted on Sept. 1, the report on Wednesday quoted Parbat Giri, the tourism ministry official overseeing the games.
All game venues in Nepal have been closed since the authorities imposed the first lockdown on March 24, 2020.
The Nepalese government on Sept. 23 abolished a seven-day quarantine for international arrivals and resumed issuing visas on arrival to all vaccinated foreign visitors.
The Treasury has granted the government all non-debt-free casinos, and has waived full annual royalties for the financial year 2020-21, which ended in mid-July in Nepal.