The Government has decided to amend the Gambling Levy Act to regulate the establishments engaged in the casino business in Sri Lanka and to formally collect relevant taxes from them.
The Cabinet has approved the proposal presented by the Prime Minister as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policy.
The Casino Business (Regulation) Act No. 17 of 2010 and the Betting and Gaming Levy Act No. 40 of 1988 set out provisions for the regulation of the casino industry in Sri Lanka.
Under Act No. 17 of 2010, licenses must be granted for running casino businesses in Sri Lanka, but due to the fact that the necessary orders have not yet been issued to enforce the provisions of the said Act, no licenses have been issued to any casino business under the said Act.
Under that situation, it has become difficult to formally collect the relevant taxes from the institutions engaged in the casino business.
Therefore this proposal has been submitted to issue orders under the Casino Business (Regulation) Act No. 17 of 2010 and to introduce suitable amendments to the Betting and Gaming Levy Act No. 40 of 1988 for the purpose of regulating such businesses and recovering the taxes due to the Government.
