Apparently, the expansion of the gambling sector in Sri Lanka has been brought to a standstill since the new government decided to halt the further development of three casinos, which were approved by the previous members of the government.
As a matter of fact, the termination of the projects did not come as a surprise. The newly elected President of Sri Lanka, Maithripala Sirisena, is among those opposing the expansion of the gambling market on the territory of the country.
A few weeks ago, it became clear that Sirisena is against the proposal of Mr. Packer and he would do his best to prevent the establishment of a casino managed by Crown Resorts Ltd.
The Australian casino mogul was intending to invest the sum of $400 million but unfortunately, he will not be given the nod.
Back in 2013, James Packer received an approval for his casino project but he met the fierce opposition of the Buddhist leaders. Packer had no choice but to make some changes in his plan. Later, Packer’s project faced more setbacks and up to now, the building procedures have not been started yet.
Actually, the President is not the only one who disapproves of the expansion of the casino sector. He is supported by the majority of his coalition partners as well as most Buddhist leaders who believe that the availability of casinos would lead to degradation of moral values.
In addition, the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe, announced that there was a change related to the tax concessions given to the casino projects.
Wickremesinghe also said that that despite the fact that casinos will not be permitted on the territory of Sri Lanka, the venues might still be well-attended and profitable since they will be allowed to operate the hotels proposed in the projects.
Apart from Mr. Packer’s casino, which would have been given the name Lake Treasure, there were another two blocked casino projects. Vallibel One PLC proposed a $300 million project; John Keells Holdings PLC was the other company, which was willing to invest $800 million into a casino venue based in Sri Lanka.
According to the information released by government officials, all casino licenses will be reviewed and gambling activities will be allowed in one particular area. The location where gambling will be permitted is expected to be announced soon.
The former president of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, once announced that the gambling activities would most probably be concentrated at D.R. Wijewardena Mawatha, an area, located in a close proximity to the site where Crown was planning to build a hotel.
