The finance minister of Sri Lanka made an announcement that operating a casino will be more costly. Of course, Gambling Operators were not happy with the news as the licensing fee will be twice the price as before. Thus, the annual fee of $1.1 million will not be $2.2 million for casino operators in the country. The move for Sri Lanka to make it more Expansive for Gambling Operators is because they want more gambling revenue.
In addition, gambling operators will have to pay more taxes on gambling revenues. According to Korean gambling news websites, they will have to pay 15% more in taxes. Furthermore, the government will be assessing the new tax increase for gambling operations on April 1, 2019.
Gambling companies will not be the only ones to have to pay more. This is because the government will make gamblers pay an entry fee of $50 in order to visit a casino. Furthermore, the fee will be per person per visit.
Impact of the new fee and taxes on Gambling in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka began regulating the gambling industry within its borders almost 10 years ago to revive its tourism industry. Since then, the gambling laws have been in turmoil with a lot of chaotic changes that to its gambling laws.
This is because sometimes they want to give tax breaks to casinos in order to attract foreign casino investors. On the other hand, they seem to also add more fees and restrictions to casino operators on a regular basis.
Over the past few years, several gambling operators have shown interest in entering the Sri Lanka gambling market. In fact, several entrepreneurs looking to becoming a bookie in Sri Lanka have also show interest. However, these new fees and taxes will make these companies reconsider their interest in operating in the country.
Furthermore, the new casino entry fee will hurt the casino industry. Even though the casino is just collecting the fee for the government, it will deter many local people from gambling in Sri Lanka. Thus, it will hurt the overall casino profit margin and keep other companies from operating a casino in Sri Lanka.
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