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Casino entrance fee doubles

10 Jul 2022

  • To rise from $ 100 to $ 200: Justice Ministry
  • Says proposal taken up in Cabinet in absence of Dhammika Perera
  • Prominent investor and casino operator says impacts of developments being evaluated
By Shenal Fernando The Prime Minister’s proposal to issue orders under the Casino Business (Regulation) Act No. 17 of 2010 to increase the casino entrance fee from $ 100 to $ 200 has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday (4), according to the Ministry of Justice. Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Minister of Justice Dr. Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe stated that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, as Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies, had presented a proposal to regularise the casino industry and to increase the entrance fee for casinos from the current mandated limit of $ 100 to $ 200. The proposal had subsequently been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. The Sunday Morning Business reached out to prominent investor and casino operator Ravi Wijeratne, the owner of Rank Holdings – which operates the popular casinos Stardust and Casino Marina in Colombo – to obtain his response to this recent development and how it may impact the functioning of the casino industry. However, Wijeratne stated that they were still evaluating these developments and refused to comment further. Meanwhile, Minister Rajapakshe further stated: “This proposal was discussed at this week’s Cabinet meeting in the absence of Minister Dhammika Perera. This proposal was not taken up at the Cabinet meeting held the previous week due to the presence of Minister Dhammika Perera given the possibility of a conflict of interest.” Elaborating further, he stated that although casinos had been functioning in the country, their existence and operation were not strictly legal since they had not been issued licences under the Casino Business (Regulation) Act, noting that casinos had been functioning on an ‘irregular’ basis so far. Consequently, the collection of taxes from entities engaged in the casino industry has been a complicated process.  The press release issued by the Department of Government Information on the Cabinet decisions made on Monday stated that provisions had been imposed by the Casino Business (Regulation) Act No. 17 of 2010 and the Betting and Gaming Levy Act No. 40 of 1988 for regularising Sri Lanka’s casino industry.  Accordingly, it was stated that licences should be issued as per the Casino Business (Regulation) Act No. 17 of 2010 to maintain casino businesses within Sri Lanka. However, no provisions to empower the Act have been issued to date and no entity engaged in the casino industry has been issued licences under the Act. Under such circumstances, it has been difficult to recover the relevant levies from entities engaged in the casino industry. Cabinet Co-Spokesman Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardena, speaking at the post-Cabinet media briefing, stated that this development to regulate the casino industry would be beneficial in attracting more tourists arriving for entertainment purposes and would also lead to an increase in Government tax revenue.  


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