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Wednesday, 13 November 2013 00:41 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
According to the MP, the Casino Business (Regulation) Act, No. 17 of 2010 certified on 7 December 2010 specifically states that no person shall, from and after 1 January 2012, engage in the business of a casino other than under the authority of a valid license and within a specific area designated by order published in the Gazette. The Act further states that any person who carries on the business of a casino in contravention of the said provisions shall be guilty of an offence that carries a punishment of imprisonment for up to five years upon conviction after a summary trial, he said.
“The factual position is that no person has obtained a license under this law, or any other law, to engage in the business of a casino. We challenge Minister Rambukwella to produce a single license in Parliament at the next sitting, if he can. He cannot, because they do not exist,” Dr. de Silva said, in a statement.
According to the MP, the only way James Packer can establish a casino in Sri Lanka is if the Government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa issues either him or his business partner a valid license under this Act which must contain the terms and conditions of operating a casino in Sri Lanka including but not limited to fit and proper conditions, licensing fees, duration of the license, number of tables and machines, license renewal procedures and dispute resolution mechanisms. The Act also states that adequate notice must be given to the public by publishing in daily newspapers in Sinhala, Tamil and English the requirements for obtaining a license before any licenses are issued.
“What the Minister is referring to, whether knowingly or otherwise, is an earlier legislation titled the Betting and Gaming Levy Act No. 40 of 1988 that imposed a levy on any business engaged in betting and gaming. Having gone through several amendments this levy currently stands at Rs. 100 million per year. However, this Act is very clear that such levy does in no way confer legality to such businesses; in this case a casino. A simple example is just because an owner of an unauthorised house, say along the railway track, pays rates to the municipal council and has obtained an electricity connection, he cannot claim legitimacy for that structure. It continues to be unauthorised.”
Dr. de Silva added that James Packer has already been warned by the Australian regulators that Sri Lanka is a country with ‘governance challenges’ and that any deviation from the laws of the country would be severely dealt with in continuing his licenses in other jurisdictions.
“The law must apply equally to all; it cannot be one for the Salaka Casino that was raided last week and another for the many casinos in Colombo operated by persons closely connected to the regime that Packer is supposedly negotiating to setup Crown Sri Lanka. We will continue to educate the public on the facts of this matter and will continue to oppose illegal and tax free casinos in Sri Lanka,” he asserted.
