Government does a partial U-turn on casino entry fee plans

The Sri Lankan government appears to be backtracking on plans to introduce an entry fee for casino patrons.

Last month, the government announced several changes to its gambling legislation as part of plans to help boost revenue.

As part of this, the Sri Lankan finance minister, Mongata Samaraweera, had indicated that all casino patrons would be required to pay $50 per visit to a casino. However, this fee will now only be paid by local gamblers, and not international visitors.

Despite this, the government will still go ahead with its other planned changes. The annual license fees for gaming operators have been doubled to LKR400m ($2.2m), while casino firms will also be required to pay a 15 percent rate of tax on gambling turnover. The new rate of tax came into effect at the beginning of April.