The Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance (COPF) MP Dr. Harsha de Silva states that a casino regulatory authority should immediately be established if licenses are to be granted for operating casinos within Sri Lanka.

Speaking in the parliament this morning (Nov. 28), the SJB parliamentarian emphasized that the COPF did not grant approval for the regulations under the Casino Business (Regulation) Act, since the relevant bill is being brought for the first time to license and regulate casinos.

“No casino licenses are granted without a casino regulatory body in any country in the world”, he pointed out, adding that nevertheless, the minister has also been granted authority regarding the matter, through the Casino Business (Regulation) Act.

Moreover, MP Harsha de Silva mentioned that it is important to inform the committee at least roughly regarding when the relevant regulatory authority will be brought in.

Meanwhile the matter had been taken up when the COPF met recently, and the members of the Committee were of the opinion that it would be best to consider the approval after making it more effective for the development of the country, the President’s Media Division reported.

Thus, the officials had said that there is no provision to operate the casino apart from the tax paid to the Inland Revenue Department and as a preliminary step they have taken measures to issue these licenses.

There was a long discussion in the committee regarding a number of issues related to the fact that there is no clear understanding of whether these casino businesses are paying the relevant taxes, how much tax has been collected by the government or not, and whether there is no proper regulation regarding the existing casino businesses apart from the 04 registered casino businesses, according to the PMD.

Accordingly, the Committee on Public Finance had decided to conduct a comparative study in this regard and reconsider the matter.