The Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) has instructed relevant officials to take immediate measures to look into regulating Online Casinos due to the loss of revenue caused by such casinos in Sri Lanka.
Despite online casinos being illegal in Sri Lanka, they continue to operate openly without repercussions, depriving the country of significant revenue, according to the Committee on Public Finance (CoPF).
Accordingly, CoPF Chairman MP Harsha de Silva has directed that a letter be sent to the Minister of Finance requesting his immediate attention to the matter.
According to a Parliament statement, the matter was taken into discussion at the Committee on Public Finance which met under the aegis of MP Harsha de Silva recently (June 06).
The importance of establishing a Casino Regulator was also highlighted by the Committee on Public Finance. Officials representing the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank also were of the view that many issues on Casinos can be resolved with the establishment of a Casino Regulator.
MP de Silva instructed the officials present to take immediate measures and not to further delay the necessary laws to establish a regulatory authority which is very important to attract foreign investors and to collect the revenue due to the government from the casino business.
Following the discussions, the Committee took into consideration the Regulations under Section 4 read with Section 3 of the Casino Business (Regulation) Act No. 17 of 2010 and an Order under Section 4 read with Section 3 of the Casino Business (Regulation) Act No. 17 of 2010. The Regulation and Order was then approved by the Committee following careful consideration.
State Minister (Dr.) Suren Raghavan, and Members of Parliament Nimal Lanza, Mayantha Dissanayake, Chandima Weerakkody, (Dr.) Nalaka Godahewa, Harshana Rajakaruna, and Madhura Withanage were present at the Committee meeting. (Newswire)