Nal Hutta serves as the central headquarters for the Hutts, a race of bloated, worm-like creatures driven by greed who make up the most infamous interplanetary gangster cartels in the galaxy. Originally from the planet of Varl, the Hutts allegedly left to colonize Nal Hutta following an apocalyptic natural disaster on their homeworld resulting in its obliteration. Contemporary historians in the Star Wars universe doubt the veracity of the Hutts’ account and believe that the destruction of Varl was caused by the Hutts themselves, most likely from full-blown civil war.

Using their keen understanding of business and galactic law, the Hutts manipulated the local primitive peoples of Nal Hutta (the Evocii) into signing trade agreements exchanging advanced technology for local real estate, ultimately dragging the local population deep into debt. The Hutts settled the debt by making slaves of the planet’s inhabitants and ruling over their former domain. After thousands of years of Hutt rule, the planet had been transformed into an industrial hive saturated with pollution and barely fit for living beings.

From the Bioware site:

In Huttese, the name translates into “Glorious Jewel”, and the planet more commonly called Nal Hutta is considered a paradise to the gluttonous tastes of the Hutts. To anyone else, though, the planet is a living nightmare—a disgusting and dangerous place to visit, and an unthinkable place to live. Current Underworld slang has shortened the name to a simple ‘Hutta’—a place where more civilized people threaten to send their children if they misbehave.

Before the creation of the Republic, Hutta was controlled by the native Evocii, a relatively primitive race who made the mistake of engaging in extensive business deals with the Hutts, ignoring rumors of their legendary greed. Centuries later, the Evocii realized their mistake too late—their entire civilization was mortgaged. When the Hutts’ home-world of Varl later became polluted and uninhabitable, the Hutts collected on the Evocii’s debts, becoming rulers of the planet.

In the thousands of years since, the Hutts have subjugated the Evocii—they live in slavery and squalor while the Hutts’ insatiable pursuit wealth pollutes the planet. Hutta has become the breeding grounds for the powerful Hutt families who control competing crime cartels that operate across the galaxy. Though petty vendettas keep them in constant conflict with one another, the Hutts have remained neutral in the long-running war between the Republic and the Sith Empire, keeping their world exactly as they like it.

The Hutts are the lords of Hutta’s demented society, and all other races, even official foreign emissaries, are seen as expendable fodder in the Hutts’ bloated, wormlike eyes. Even the most infamous bounty hunters are hesitant to venture on the Hutts’ home-turf, and no sane person would ever come to Hutta willingly without the most crucial need.