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Casino games: Govt. says no, Packer yes
View(s):The website of Australian casino mogul James Packer’s local company, Crown Sri Lanka, still says his resort in Colombo will contain “world class gaming facilities”, though government leaders claim that there will be no casinos. The website also carries a caveat at the bottom which reads, “Crown is in detailed discussions with the Sri Lankan Government and potential joint venture partners regarding the development of an integrated resort project in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The project is subject to final agreement between the parties and receipt of relevant approvals.”
But on April 24, Parliament approved tax holidays and concessions for three integrated resorts — one by Mr. Packer’s Crown Investments, the other by local gaming entrepreneur Dhammika Perera and a third by John Keells Holdings. It was the final step in an approvals process prescribed by the Strategic Development Act. This meant that the negotiations have been concluded and that the deal is closed.
During the Parliamentary debate, Government representatives insisted that the integrated resorts would not have casinos but “associated facilities”. Both President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his brother Basil, the Economic Development Minister, recently said the new hotels would not have gaming. But Crown Sri Lanka has not made the necessary changes in its website. JVP Parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake also pointed that the company maintained that its hotel in Colombo would have a casino.
“The proposed project aims at providing unique experiences in the form of dynamic entertainment programming, leisure elements and destination gaming,” the website states. It says the resort will have about 450 five-star rooms and VIP suites, five signature and casual restaurants, three bars and “world class gaming facilities”, among other things.
Meanwhile, the Government is yet to implement the provisions of the Casino Business (Regulation) Act of 2010 which says that no person shall, from and after January 1, 2012, engage in the business of a casino “other than under the authority of a valid licence” issued by the relevant minister. The Act also prescribes that the Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister who handles the subject of gaming shall publish newspaper advertisements in all three languages notifying the public of the requirement to obtain licences to carry on a casino business. All casinos are still technically illegal and only pay taxes to the Department of Inland Revenue for which they are issued a receipt, not a licence.