Sri Lanka’s government has announced a string of measures as part of its 2025 budget plan, saying they are a way to help boost the country’s economy.
The budget, announced on Monday, proposes doubling the entrance fee at the country’s casinos to US$100 per person, up from US$50. It also aims to raise the turnover tax on gaming establishments from 15 percent to 18 percent.
Sri Lanka has a number of small-scale gaming establishments. The first large-scale casino resort in the country, City of Dreams Sri Lanka in the capital Colombo, started opening non-gaming faciities last year.
The casino at City of Dreams Sri Lanka is likely to be open in the “third quarter of calendar year 2025,” said earlier this month Krishan Balendra, chairperson of John Keells Holdings Plc.
The Sri Lanka real estate developer is the partner of casino operator Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd for the US$1-billion City of Dreams Sri Lanka complex.
The national budget was introduced on Monday by the nation’s President Anura Kumara Dissanayake.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) wants Sri Lanka to double its income from taxation compared to the 7.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) it took in 2022, when the country defaulted on its US$46-billion in foreign debt.
Sri Lanka is also looking to vehicle import taxes to boost revenue and revive the island nation’s economy. Vehicle imports were banned in 2020, depriving the authorities of an important revenue stream, as cars were taxed at about 300 percent.
President Dissanayake said the ban’s end would bolster state revenue to meet the tax target of 15 percent of GDP, which the country must achieve under the terms of an IMF bailout agreement.
“For the year 2025, the bulk of revenue gains is expected to be delivered by the liberalisation of motor vehicle imports,” Mr Dissanayake told parliament on Monday, according to media reports.
Sri Lanka hikes casino fees in 2025 budget proposal
