{"id":13862,"date":"2025-09-19T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/?post_type=asia&#038;p=13862"},"modified":"2025-09-19T06:58:03","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T11:58:03","slug":"colombo-parliament-rejects-casino-levy-hike-proposal","status":"publish","type":"asia","link":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/colombo-parliament-rejects-casino-levy-hike-proposal\/","title":{"rendered":"Colombo parliament rejects casino levy hike proposal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Colombo, Sri Lanka \u2013 On <strong>September 18, 2025<\/strong>, the <strong>Sri Lanka<\/strong> parliament rejected a significant amendment to increase casino levies and double local entry fees, part of the government\u2019s <strong>2025 budget<\/strong> measures aimed at enhancing state revenue. The proposal sought to raise the gross gambling revenue levy from <strong>15% to 18%<\/strong> and increase casino entry fees for Sri Lankan citizens from <strong>$50 to $100<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-tourism-surpasses-1-6-million-arrivals-amid-indian-visitor-surge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sri Lanka tourism surpasses 1.6 million arrivals amid Indian visitor surge<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite prior cabinet endorsement and clearance by the <strong>Attorney General<\/strong>, the bill failed to secure parliamentary consent, casting uncertainty over the government\u2019s fiscal adjustment plans amid ongoing economic recovery efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"650\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/colombo-parliament-rejects-casino-levy-hike-proposal2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13863\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/colombo-parliament-rejects-casino-levy-hike-proposal2.jpg 650w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/09\/colombo-parliament-rejects-casino-levy-hike-proposal2-300x162.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 650px) 100vw, 650px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Minister <strong>Nalinda Jayatissa<\/strong> expressed disappointment over the setback, emphasizing that \u201cthis opportunity to strengthen <strong>fiscal resources<\/strong> and regulatory oversight in the rapidly expanding gambling sector was not seized.\u201d His statement underscores concerns about meeting revenue forecasts and maintaining regulatory coherence going forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/landing\/multigame-link\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1-300x102.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1-768x261.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The amendment aimed to revise the <strong>Betting and Gaming Levy Act<\/strong>, which governs taxation on casino operations and fixes entry fees for patrons. Its rejection halts planned increases in levies and fees, despite the recent enactment of the <strong>Gambling Regulatory Authority Act No. 17 of 2025<\/strong>, which created a new regulator for licensing and compliance of gambling activities. This parliamentary decision introduces legal uncertainty, complicating the enforcement of both fiscal and regulatory reforms outlined in the <strong>2025 budget<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/landing\/multigame-link\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"340\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1-300x102.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/11\/ice-london-termino-y-se-despidio-la-feria-en-imagenes-mgl-1-768x261.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Economically, the failure to raise levies could hinder the government\u2019s ability to meet <strong>International Monetary Fund (IMF)<\/strong> targets to increase tax revenue to <strong>15% of GDP<\/strong> from the previous <strong>7.3%<\/strong>. This may prolong fiscal imbalances and strain state finances, while challenging casino operators balancing affordability for locals and engagement with foreign tourists. The decision represents a notable obstacle to capturing immediate additional revenue from the growing gambling sector. As Colombo faces this legislative impasse, the government\u2019s fiscal reform momentum is at a crossroads, with alternative strategies needing swift deployment to sustain economic recovery and ensure regulatory effectiveness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Union minister for electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, described the bill as \u201ca necessary intervention to protect society from the escalating harm caused by unregulated real-money gaming.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13864,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2323,57,2802,2595],"class_list":{"0":"post-13862","1":"asia","2":"type-asia","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sin-categoria","8":"tag-asia","9":"tag-casinos","10":"tag-india","11":"tag-sri-lanka","12":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - 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