Sri Lankan pro-casino President Mahinda Rajapaksa has proposed a US0 entrance fee for players in the country’s casinos and a 10 percent tax on revenue.
The measures, announced with the president’s budget address last week, appear to designed to introduce a formal structure to the island nation’s small gaming market and thereby quiet political and religious opposition to new resort-scale casinos in the capital of Colombo, headlined by a US$350 million project planned by James Packer’s Crown Resorts.
The government collected a mere 100 million Sri Lanka rupees from the country’s five recognized casinos last year, or about $765,000, but in his speech, Rajapaksa said he expects that to grow to 2.5 billion rupees with the new tax.
Rajapaksa, who is also finance minister, is reported to be seeking a third six-year term in January. He is known for his support for casinos as a key tool for growing the Sri Lanka economy through increased tourism and foreign direct investment. But opposition remains strong, principally from influential Buddhist groups.
