After the Kathmandu District attorney office filed a case on Sunday against those who were arrested on charges of online betting, the Kathmandu District Court has started hearing the case from Monday.
The district attorney had filed a case against several actors on the charge of promoting 1xBet, which is an online platform mainly used for betting on sports. It is legal and popular in some countries but in Nepal, it’s illegal.
On June 15, police had arrested popular Nepali sitcom actors Marichman Shrestha, who plays the role of ‘Balchhi Dhurbe’, Raju Paudel, known for his role as ‘Raju Master', and prankster Alish Rai. Others who were arrested were Dinesh Khadka, Ganesh Devkota, Begam Nepali, Roshan Khatiwada and Saroj Ghimire.
“The district court has started to record the statements, and we are hopeful the court will soon make a decision in the case,” said Achyut Neupane, chief of the Kathmandu District Attorney’s office.
According to police, the arrestees had done transactions worth more than Rs740 million.
The Penal (Code) Act states that those who are found gambling have to stay three months in jail and pay a fine up to Rs30,000, for the first time, and if found guilty a second time, the culprit has to pay Rs50,000 and serve a one-year jail term.
Those who were arrested on the charge of illegal betting have long been telling the police that they were unaware of the legal provisions. And they repeated the same while recording their statements in the court on Monday.
“But ignorance of law is no excuse,” said Senior Superintendent Dan Bahadur Karki, chief of Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range, Teku. “It seems they were tempted due to the big amounts they earned through it, but their act is against the law.”
Meanwhile, Ajay Rajbanshi, section officer at Advertisement Board, said many are into it just to make good money, but it's a crime.
“Most of the arrestees have said that they were unaware that online betting is illegal, so we have decided to run an awareness programme,” said Rajbanshi.
He said as more public figures are being used in illegal activities, they have planned an awareness and interaction programme in coordination with the artists and the Advertisement Board.
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