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Sri Lanka – Delays to Packer’s Sri Lanka gamble

By Phil - 3 December 2013

Crown Resorts’ US$400m expansion into Sri Lanka is unlikely to be approved before the end of 2013 amid allegations that Crown’s owner James Packer was receiving concessions not granted to local businesses.

The complaints have come via Buddhist leaders who believe the casino development could be damaging to the culture of Sri Lanka.

In October the government stated that Crown’s revised proposals would be resubmitted to parliament by November 21, however, Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena, Investment and Promotion Minister, confirmed the delays.

“I haven’t prepared the cabinet paper yet,” he said. “These days you can’t do it because we are busy with the budget. There is no hurry. These are long-term projects and we are aiming to start by 2015 to 2016.”

Ravi Wijeratne, the owner of Rank Holdings, Crown’s local partner in the project added that the deal would probably be signed off when parliament begins in the first week of January, adding that one month would not make any difference. The project had already been approved back in September before several changes were made to the details behind it.

Opposition to the development and that by John Keells Holdings has been building via an online petition launched by the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka demanding Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa scraps both projects. The ‘Stop casinos in Sri Lanka petition’ said: We want the incumbent government to immediately stop the concessions proposed to be granted to hotel projects which will house casinos in Colombo. We also call upon the legislators to immediate ban all forms of gambling including casinos in Sri Lanka as it is against the teachings of all major religions.”