Melco’s City of Dreams Colombo to target Indian gamblers
Sri Lanka’s first major casino resort looks to position itself as a premium gaming destination for Indian high rollers.
Sri Lanka.- City of Dreams Colombo will launch on August 2, and Melco Resorts & Entertainment and John Keells Holdings (JKH) hope to tap into India’s expanding outbound gambling market.
Krishan Balendra, chairman of JKH, said the project is strategically aligned with the growth of India’s economy and outbound travel: “We see significant potential in Indian visitation, and with a world-class operator like Melco, we’re well-positioned to attract high-value tourists, including VIP casino clientele,” he told local media.
India was Sri Lanka’s largest source market in 2024, with over 416,000 arrivals, a 37.7 per cent increase from the previous year. Balendra believes this figure could more than double to one million with enhanced gaming, hotel and MICE infrastructure, alongside a national tourism promotion campaign. “We should easily be able to attract 1 million Indians, with new facilities, while the take-off of the long-overdue country promotion campaign, would help immensely,” Balendra said.
The US$1.2bn integrated resort will host Sri Lanka’s most ambitious casino project to date, operated by Melco under a 20-year licence effective from April 1, 2024. It has a gaming floor measuring approximately 180,000 square feet, a Nüwa hotel and the existing 687-room Cinnamon Life hotel.
