Sri Lanka updates casino licence fees

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance has introduced revised casino licence fees.

Sri Lanka.- Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Sri Lanka´s minister of finance, has announced revised casino licence fees. The announcement follows the submission of ten casino applications.

Under the new fee structure, existing casinos will be subject to fees of US$1.55m for the initial five years, followed by US$4.66m for subsequent renewals, with a renewal fee of US$31m. For new operators planning investments of US$250m, licence and renewal fees will be US$31m. For those investing more than US$500m, the initial fee will be US$15.5m, followed by renewal fees of US$31m.

Sri Lanka has six operational casinos: Bally’s, Bellagio, Casino Marina, Stardust, Continental Club, and The Ritz Club.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance (COPF) has expressed concern over the failure to meet the government’s commitment to establish a gaming regulator by December 31, 2023. The COPF has summoned the director general of fiscal policy to provide information regarding both physical and online casinos, including tax revenues generated. It called for a plan to recover outstanding taxes owed and granted a two-week extension for the submission of requested information, with expectations for the legislation to be completed by March 31.