• Subscribe
  • Magazines
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Saturday 9 August 2025
  • zh-hant 中文
  • ja 日本語
  • en English
IAG
Advertisement
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
    • Africa
    • Australia
    • Cambodia
    • China
    • CNMI
    • Europe
    • Hong Kong
    • India
    • Japan
    • Laos
    • Latin America
    • Malaysia
    • Macau
    • Nepal
    • New Zealand
    • North America
    • North Korea
    • Philippines
    • Russia
    • Singapore
    • South Korea
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • UAE
    • Vietnam
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
No Result
View All Result
IAG
No Result
View All Result

Sri Lanka Pulls Plug on Casinos

Newsdesk by Newsdesk
Fri 30 Jan 2015 at 09:55
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Sri Lanka’s new government has rescinded the previous administration’s approval of casinos for three resorts planned for the capital of Colombo.

The move was widely expected as fulfillment of a campaign promise given by new President Maithripala Sirisena to cancel the licenses, which had been granted by his predecessor, Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Mr Rajapaksa, who governed the country virtually unopposed for 10 years, supported gaming expansion as a means of boosting the island nation’s economy through increased tourism and foreign investment. However, the plan was never popular with influential religious leaders of the country’s Buddhist-Sinhalese majority and was criticized heavily both by opposition parties and segments of Mr Rajapaksa’s own coalition partners, who feared the industry would undermine traditional values and lead to a variety of social ills.

Mr Sirisena defeated Mr Rajapaksa in an election held the 8th of January.

The casinos canceled include one slated for a US$400 million resort hotel planned by Australia’s Crown Resorts. Lake Leisure, as it’s called, was to be built in the capital’s popular tourist core. Casinos are also gone from a $300 million resort proposal called Queensbury, backed by local company Vallibel One, which owns two of Sri Lanka’s three existing casinos, and an $850 million resort called Water Front Properties proposed by hospitality giant John Keells Holdings, the country’s largest publicly traded company.

The new Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said gazette notices that gave tax concessions to the projects had been amended. “We have decided to ban such approval for casinos,” he told the parliament. “But they can conduct all other activities,” he said, referring to hotel and residential apartments included in the projects.

In the meantime, all existing casino licenses also will be reviewed and in future will be restricted to a specific area of the island, cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said.

RelatedPosts

Melco awarded 20-year license to operate City of Dreams Sri Lanka

As City of Dreams Sri Lanka celebrates official opening, Melco’s Lawrence Ho says Sri Lanka “can be to India what Macau is to China”

Sun 3 Aug 2025 at 10:46
Star to open AU$3.6 billion Queen’s Wharf Brisbane development on 29 August

Star’s Hong Kong partners said to be eying Crown Resorts to run casino at Queen’s Wharf Brisbane if takeover talks succeed

Fri 18 Jul 2025 at 11:11
Melco awarded 20-year license to operate City of Dreams Sri Lanka

Bollywood star pulls out of City of Dreams Sri Lanka opening but flagship event to continue as planned

Fri 18 Jul 2025 at 05:51
Melco targeting Indian market with Sri Lanka casino investment, flags annual GGR up to US$250 million

Sri Lankan think tank questions independence and integrity of proposed gaming regulator

Mon 14 Jul 2025 at 05:48
Load More
Tags: Crown ResortsJohn KeellsSri LankaVallibel One
Share1Share
Newsdesk

Newsdesk

Current Issue

Editorial – Better late than never

Editorial – Better late than never

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:13

Inside Asian Gaming has in recent weeks been hearing increasing chatter around a possible move by Vietnamese authorities to introduce...

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

Angel’s Yasushi Shigeta

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 07:08

Yasushi Shigeta, Chairman and owner of one of the world’s largest gaming industry suppliers, Angel Group, sits down with Inside...

The Magic Number

The Magic Number

by David Bonnet
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 06:41

In this in-depth deep dive into the evolution of the Asian gaming landscape, David Bonnet argues that many regional jurisdictions...

Rashid Suliman – A road well traveled

Rashid Suliman – A road well traveled

by Ben Blaschke
Thu 31 Jul 2025 at 02:45

Rashid Suliman, Vice President of Global Gaming Asia-Pacific for casino solutions provider TransAct Technologies, provides some insight into his unique...

Evolution Asia
Your browser does not support HTML5 video.
Aristocrat
GLI
Nustar
SABA
Mindslot
Solaire
Hann
Tecnet
HKUST
NWR

Related Posts

Ministry says foreign workers comprised majority of 2,000 laid-off RWS workers

JP Morgan highlights “strikingly large” gap between Singapore’s two IRs as Resorts World Sentosa falls to all-time low market share

by Ben Blaschke
Sat 9 Aug 2025 at 10:04

Investment bank JP Morgan on Friday whacked Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) for what he described as a “strikingly large” gap in market share and profit share in the three months to 30 June 2025. It also noted that the...

Licensed online operators respond to regulatory push by forming PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines

Licensed online operators respond to regulatory push by forming PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines

by Newsdesk
Sat 9 Aug 2025 at 10:01

A group of 19 licensed online gaming operators in the Philippines have come together to form the PlaySafe Alliance of the Philippines – a unified industry association they say is committed to responsible gaming, regulatory compliance, consumer protection and combatting...

IGT to unveil comprehensive game portfolio, new jackpots at Australasian Gaming Expo

IGT to unveil comprehensive game portfolio, new jackpots at Australasian Gaming Expo

by Newsdesk
Fri 8 Aug 2025 at 12:56

IGT will showcase 10 new game families as well as a revamped jackpot strategy for the local ANZ market at the upcoming Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE) taking place at ICC Sydney from 12 to 14 August 2025. This will also...

Large-scale events center at Wynn Palace part of US$750 million worth of Macau project investments planned by Wynn through end-2026

Large-scale events center at Wynn Palace part of US$750 million worth of Macau project investments planned by Wynn through end-2026

by Ben Blaschke
Fri 8 Aug 2025 at 05:54

Wynn Macau Ltd is looking to spend up to US$750 million through the end of 2026 on a series of upgrade and expansion projects at its Macau resorts, including development of a new large-scale events center at Wynn Palace. The...

Your browser does not support the video tag.


IAG

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • SUBSCRIBE FREE
  • NEWSFEED
  • MAG ARTICLES
  • VIDEO
  • OPINION
  • TAGS
  • REGIONAL
  • EVENTS
  • CONSULTING
  • CONTRIBUTORS
  • MAGAZINES
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • ADVERTISE

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

No Result
View All Result
  • Subscribe
  • Newsfeed
  • Mag Articles
  • Video
  • Opinion
  • Tags
  • Regional
  • Events
  • Contributors
  • Magazines
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • About
  • Home for G2E Asia

© 2005-2025
Inside Asian Gaming.
All rights reserved.

  • English