Sri Lanka reins in errant casinos and betting centres
View(s):The Government is increasing its scrutiny of Sri Lanka’s betting and gaming industry with the first sign of a crackdown on unregistered casinos and betting centres emerging following the tax increase in the 2013 budget on gambling.
A senior official of the Inland Revenue Department said that Betting and Gaming Levies have been revised and any person who fails to register with the department by February 8th will be barred from continuing the business.
Tax on betting through agents has been increased from Rs. 1 million to Rs. 2 million per year, betting with live telecast – Rs. 300,000 while the tax for betting without live telecastis unchanged.
The tax rate for gaming has been revised from Rs. 50 million to Rs. 100 million per year. In lieu of all indirect taxes 5 per cent will be collected from the gross collection on a monthly basis. The department has intensified its raids and surveillance to crack down on illegal casinos and horse-racing bookies that have been operating in Sri Lanka for decades, exploiting loopholes in the law to evade tax payments previously, a senior official of the department said.
But the new Casino Business (Regulation) Act, No. 17 of 2010 has regulated gambling aimed at harnessing its potential as a boost to tourism which has soared after the end of the conflict, he added.
With this legislation, he noted that gambling outlets are required to obtain licenses by February 2013 or cease to operate.
Violators will face a fine of US $45,000 and a five-year jail term. The Act provides “for the designation of areas in which persons intending to start the business of gaming can set up their establishments”.
There are currently nine casinos in Sri Lanka, eight of which are located in Colombo, such as Ballys, Bellagio, MGM and the Ritz Club.
At least 470 sports betting web sites were open to players with addresses in Sri Lanka. They include almost all of the major sports books—Bet365, Paddy Power, Ladbrokes, William Hill, Unibet, Expekt, etc.
But the Inland Revenue official said that only four casinos and 2,000 betting centres are registered with the department to pay taxes.
The department collected over Rs. 1.7 billion in tax revenue from casinos in six years up to 2011, he said adding that the revenue earned by the government from casinos, betting and gambling centres has been Rs 196.4 million in 2006, Rs 282 million in 2007, Rs 268 million in 2008, Rs 270 million in 2009 and Rs 295 million in 2010, Rs.297 million in 2011 and Rs. 300 billion in 2012
The casinos had functioned under the provisions of the Gaming and Betting Act of 1988 and that the provisions of the recently passed Casino and Gambling Act of 2010 would be applicable for them from January 2012, the official said.
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