{"id":19325,"date":"2026-10-19T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/?post_type=asia&#038;p=19325"},"modified":"2026-10-19T06:48:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T11:48:52","slug":"universal-exits-sri-lanka-casino-project-asfive-investments-withdraw","status":"publish","type":"asia","link":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/universal-exits-sri-lanka-casino-project-asfive-investments-withdraw\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal exits Sri Lanka casino project asfive investments withdraw"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Colombo, October 18, 2026.<\/strong> <strong>Universal Entertainment Colombo<\/strong> has abandoned the development of an integrated resort with a casino in <strong>Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka<\/strong>, after withdrawing from the evaluation of a <strong>10-hectare site<\/strong>. The withdrawal is among <strong>five projects that have stalled out of ten proposals reviewed<\/strong> by Parliament&#8217;s Committee on Public Finance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/landing\/multigame-link\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9622\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Revan Wickramasuriya<\/strong>, Director General of the <strong>Colombo Port City Economic Commission (CPCEC)<\/strong>, confirmed the withdrawal before the committee chaired by <strong>Harsha de Silva<\/strong>. The project, linked by media reports to Japan&#8217;s <strong>Universal Entertainment Corporation<\/strong>, headed by <strong>Tomohiro Okada<\/strong>, had neither a confirmed investment amount nor an approved casino licence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"897\" height=\"575\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/image-158.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19329\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.5582010582010581\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/image-158.png 897w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/image-158-300x192.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/image-158-768x492.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 897px) 100vw, 897px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"> <em>Harsha de Silva<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other withdrawn proposals include <strong>Asiri Port City Hospital<\/strong>, <strong>Gateway International Campus<\/strong>, and <strong>Clothespin Management and Development<\/strong>, which had proposed a seven-star hotel, residences, offices, and commercial facilities. The latter had paid <strong>US$10,000<\/strong> to process its application. Despite the cancellations, the CPCEC, chaired by <strong>Harsha Amarasekera<\/strong>, reports <strong>US$1.12 billion in investment commitments across nine leased land plots<\/strong> and aims to attract another <strong>US$1 billion over the next twelve months<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"783\" height=\"496\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/image-159.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-19330\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.579088471849866;width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/image-159.png 783w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/image-159-300x190.png 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/10\/image-159-767x486.png 767w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 783px) 100vw, 783px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Harsha Amarasekera<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ongoing developments include the <strong>Colombo International Financial Centre<\/strong>, involving approximately <strong>US$500 million in Chinese-funded construction<\/strong>, <strong>Colombo Marina<\/strong>, <strong>ICC Port City<\/strong>, <strong>CIFC Colombo 1<\/strong>, and <strong>Marina Hotel<\/strong>. The special economic zone covers <strong>269 hectares<\/strong> and operates under <strong>Act No. 11 of 2021<\/strong>. Sri Lanka approved <strong>Act No. 17 of 2025<\/strong>, certified on <strong>September 3<\/strong>, establishing a gambling regulatory authority. Effective <strong>January 1, 2026<\/strong>, tax reforms increased the levy on regulated gross collections from <strong>15% to 18%<\/strong> and doubled the casino entry fee for Sri Lankan citizens from <strong>US$50 to US$100<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/mve-ads\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16352\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE-300x250.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">President <strong>Anura Kumara Dissanayake<\/strong>, who also serves as Finance Minister, leads the government alongside Prime Minister <strong>Harini Amarasuriya<\/strong>. <strong>Vijitha Herath<\/strong> heads the Tourism portfolio. <strong>City of Dreams Sri Lanka<\/strong>, associated with <strong>Melco Resorts &amp; Entertainment<\/strong> and <strong>Cinnamon Life<\/strong>, is already operating in Colombo as a separate development from the abandoned project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Colombo, October 18, 2026. Universal Entertainment Colombo has abandoned the development of an integrated resort with a casino in Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka, after withdrawing from the evaluation of a 10-hectare site. The withdrawal is among five projects that have stalled out of ten proposals reviewed by Parliament&#8217;s Committee on Public Finance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19326,"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":[2323,1488,57,15,2316,105,2595,1218],"class_list":["post-19325","asia","type-asia","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sin-categoria","tag-asia","tag-ban","tag-casinos","tag-gambling","tag-japan","tag-sports-betting","tag-sri-lanka","tag-tax","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Universal exits Sri Lanka casino project asfive investments withdraw - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Colombo, October 18, 2026. Universal Entertainment Colombo has abandoned the development of an integrated resort with a casino in Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka, after withdrawing from the evaluation of a 10-hectare site. The withdrawal is among five projects that have stalled out of ten proposals reviewed by Parliament&#039;s Committee on Public Finance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/universal-exits-sri-lanka-casino-project-asfive-investments-withdraw\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Universal exits Sri Lanka casino project asfive investments withdraw - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Colombo, October 18, 2026. Universal Entertainment Colombo has abandoned the development of an integrated resort with a casino in Colombo Port City, Sri Lanka, after withdrawing from the evaluation of a 10-hectare site. 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