Sri Lanka’s Golden Island Hospitality Ltd has revealed a partnership with India-based Majestic Group Hotels and Casinos under which they will establish and run a new casino in Colombo Lotus Tower building, to be called the Majestic Pride Casino, Sri Lanka.
According to local media reports, the companies have been granted a Casino Business License by the Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Ministry of Sri Lanka and on 1 August 2024 signed an agreement with the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka.
In a joint statement, Golden Island and Majestic Group said they “aim to make the Majestic Pride Casino, Sri Lanka, a premier destination for tourists, contributing to Sri Lanka’s vibrant tourism industry, economy and to create job opportunities for local Sri Lankan youth in gaming and hospitality.”
They added that the new casino will offer an “extensive array of gaming options”, although no specific opening date was mentioned.
The partnership comes after Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Tourism announced in November 2022 plans to open a casino in Colombo Lotus Tower, with an agreement having been signed with Singapore’s Kreate Design Pte Limited to operate a casino and entertainment area.
IAG noted at the time that it was unclear whether Kreate Design would attempt to run the casino itself or bring in outside expertise. There was no mention of Kreate in this week’s announcement.
Colombo Lotus Tower is the 19th tallest tower in the world and 11th tallest in Asia. Functioning primarily as a radio and television broadcasting antenna for more than 100 stations and telecommunications service providers, it also boasts six floors of retail and tourism offerings including a museum, restaurants, a food court, MICE facilities, an observation deck and one floor of luxury hotel rooms.
Sri Lanka has been looking to expand its tourism and gaming offerings in recent years, with Melco Resorts & Entertainment announcing earlier this year that it had been granted a 20-year license to operate a casino and hotel rooms at Sri Lanka’s Cinnamon Life Integrated Resort – to be called City of Dreams Sri Lanka – in partnership with Colombo-listed John Keells Holdings PLC.
Sri Lanka currently has five legal casinos, of which three are owned by Dhammika Perera and two by Ravi Wijeratne.
