Sri Lankan residents have elected their new president. His name is Maithripala Sirisena and people familiar with the matter hurried up to announce that the newly elected President is the person expected to halt the procedures concerning the establishment of a new casino on the territory of Sri Lanka.
Apparently, the intentions of the casino mogul James Packer for expanding his business are not going to come true as the President announced he was not among the proponents of such a move.
A few months ago, a manifesto released by the New Democratic Front, revealed that draconian measures are to be taken and Crown Resorts, Mr. Packer and John Keells Holdings Ltd. in particular will not be eligible for establishing the planned casino resort within the country.
Those who keep themselves informed about Crown’s imminent projects know that 2013 was a pretty eventful year marked by significant progress towards casino establishment in Sri Lanka but unfortunately, the procedure was brought to a standstill in 2014 as it met fierce opposition.
Mr. Packer was willing to work in collaboration with John Keells Holdings and to be a co-founder of a luxurious resort offering dining, entertainment and shopping options.
Although President Sirisena has already announced that he would do whatever it takes to prevent the expansion of the gambling sector, Crown officials considered his warning to be premature and too excessive.
More than a year ago, members of the government gave their consent to the establishment of a new casino but no express permission was acquired. Regardless, Ravi Wijeratne, commonly recognized as Crown’s partner and the next casino mogul of Sri Lanka, is basically allowed to transfer a license from a casino he is in charge of.
However, according to the market analysts, such an outcome would not be too beneficial since the future casino needs to get a tax relief, in order to consolidate its positions on the market in Sri Lanka. Plus, officials have to make sure that the local authorities have figured out the regulatory details upon the start of the project. Last but not least, Crown needs to obtain a full license in order to remain competitive.
In addition to the approval, received back in 2013, Crown was also given tax concessions, which will cost, according to the estimates, $1 billion.
The fact that the Sri Lankan President wants to terminate the Crown project was not surprising to the casino officials, though. They were prepared for such a reaction but company’s representative was reluctant to provide further information to the media.
Sad as it may seem, Crown’s casino project in Sri Lanka might not get anywhere. If Crown was given the nod, a spacious casino was supposed to open doors towards 2018. However, Mr. Packer has many more projects to concentrate his efforts on and the next couple of months are believed to be pretty important for the future endeavors of Crown.
