The government of Sri Lanka will go forward with creating the Gambling Regulatory Authority, which will be charged with overseeing the industry and collecting tax revenues from it.
The decision was made by Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers, Yogonet reported June 28, after President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who also wears the hat of finance minister, made the proposal.
The next step is drafting a bill that would encompass all gambling activities. Besides desiring to collect more revenue, the government wants to fight illegal activities and discourage gambling harms. However, the specifics remain undisclosed.
Yogonet noted that some early reports indicated that licenses would be for 20 years and that casinos would be subjected to a 40 percent tax on profits in addition to paying an annual license fee of Rs 500 million ($1.3 million).
What remains unclear is whether the government wants to expand the sector, or just get a handle on the existing industry by standardizing, preventing money laundering, and minimizing negative effects on consumers.
The island nation has five legal casinos. There has been some talk of developing a casino resort at the Colombo Lotus Tower.
