Sri Lanka’s main opposition party wants a formal debate in parliament over government policies it says are encouraging development of new large-scale casinos on the Indian Ocean island.
Just weeks after Australian gaming giant Crown Limited appeared to win approval to join forces with local casino partners on a US$350 resort hotel in the capital of Colombo, MP Ravi Karunanayaka of the United National Party said the ruling coalition, the United People’s Freedom Alliance, must be called to account. It is reported that that he plans introduce what is known as an “adjournment motion” to require the government to explain the Crown deal and others that appear to contradict official assurances that new casino licenses would not be granted.
Mr Kaunanayaka is concerned, he said, about statements indicating that tax breaks are available to gaming developers and that a back-door method has been devised to evade the moratorium on new casino licenses by allowing projects to proceed by trading off existing licenses.
There are currently some nine casinos catering to tourists in and around Colombo. They are open only to foreign-passport holders.
The Crown project has been endorsed by Investment Minister Lakshman Abeywardena as a joint venture with a Sri Lankan company, Rank Holdings, which has a casino license. The minister, however, maintains the project will not include a casino.
More recently, Colombo’s largest private landowner, John Keells Holdings, was reported to be negotiating with an existing casino operator in connection with plans for a destination resort in the capital pegged at $640 million. The project is slated to include 500 hotel rooms, luxury residences and other leisure attractions, according to government sources.
