Government in search of fresh revenues
The government of Sri Lanka has issued another blow to the nation’s casino industry. First, new President Mahinda Rajapaksa rejected the bid of Crown Casinos to build a $500 million project in the capital of Colombo. Now, Rajapaksa has ordered that each person who enters a casino in the South Central Asian island nation will be charged a “casino entrance levy” in the amount of US$100 “or its equivalent in any other convertible foreign currency or in Sri Lanka currency.”
According to Lankapage.com, only managing directors, board members, employees and other authorized officials can enter casinos without paying a fee. The government has also increased the annual levy for betting and gaming centers.
Last October, in announcing the new measures tied to the 2015 budget, Rajapaksa said, “We need to strengthen government revenue efforts in view of increasingly high commitments of the government to provide a wide range of public services, welfare programs and public investments.”
