---

Sri Lanka doubles casino license fee; introduces $50 entry

In a recent development, the Sri Lankan government has introduced a slew of measures to increase its tax revenues and among that is hiking of land-based casino license fees. The country has also introduced a $50 entry fee for customers just for entering Sri Lankan casinos. It has also introduced a 15% levy on the casino turnover.

Sri Lanka is fast becoming a major casino and gambling hotspot and Indians especially are going in large numbers to these events. Many companies are even scheduling live events in the country. PokerRaj International Series (PRIS) is also to be conducted at Bally’s Casino, Colombo and has a staggering series guarantee of $500k. Emerald Poker Tour and PokerHigh’s Poker Concierge are also upcoming poker events in Sri Lanka.

The casino license fee hike and the turnover levy won’t come into effect till 1^st April 2019 and the entry fee will only be imposed from 1^st June as quoted in the Sri Lankan government’s Tuesday budget announcement in its Parliament.

The annual license fee on land-based casinos in Sri Lanka was set earlier at LKR 200 million but is now increased to LKR 400 million (~INR 15.85 Crores), as per the budget. The country even increased multiple so-called ‘sin taxes’, meaning taxes on products like tobacco and alcohol. With this, Sri Lanka is aiming to distribute this revenue to other parts of the country’s aspects that need capital.

Another measure mentioned in its budget was a 3.5% Nation Building tax per transaction for anyone using an international credit card in Sri Lanka to purchase goods or services, including ‘offshore digital services.’ This tax is possibly to offset the damage done by the 26-year long and enduring Civil War the country was a witness of in the past.

Last year, the Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena sacked the then PM Ranil Wickremesinghe which was followed by thee credit downgrades which made tough for Sri Lanka to borrow money internationally, hence these measures. Keep reading GutshotMagazine.com for more similar news from Asia as well as for general gaming news from around the world.

Do you have an account on Uma Poker? You wouldn’t want to miss out on their registration and deposit bonuses, including INR 200 FREE for every new user. To avail this, sign-up HERE using code “GUTSHOT100”. Also, read our online poker rooms section, to know about the biggest and best poker rooms in the country.

---

---