The city will be administered by Colombo Port City Economic Commission, with a board appointed by the President of Sri Lanka and a Director General. The Special Zone is expected to bring a variety of investments including offshore banking to boost economic activity. Sri Lanka’s Economic Commission will regulate gaming activities and license procedures in light of a $1.4bn project by the state-owned Chinese engineering firm Local media in Sri Lanka reported that a Chinese-controlled special economic zone, to be established in Colombo Port City will soon have a regulation that will cover gaming. This draft law will be presented in parliament…

Sri Lanka will not oppose the casino planned for a $400 million mixed-use resort being developed by Australia’s Crown Casinos if it is operated using an existing license held by a local partner, a top government official said on Thursday. The government’s latest stance on casinos is contrary to what it said on April 25 when Australian gambling tycoon James Packer’s Crown project was approved by the country’s parliament. At that time the government said no casino would be allowed in the resort. Opponents of casinos believe they will lead to a boom in prostitution and damage religious values and…

The Australian – Sri Lanka has refused to allow casinos at three super-luxury resorts planned in the capital after opponents said they would lead to prostitution, an official says. It was not immediately known whether the casino ban would endanger the development of the three mega-resorts in Colombo, which have attracted investment worth $US1.3 billion ($1.4bn) from tycoons including Australian gambling mogul James Packer, who runs plush casinos in Melbourne, Perth, Macau and London. Developers, including Packer, wanted casinos to be part of all three luxury resorts, but the government rejected the plans, Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapakse said on…

Multi-million-dollar, high end casinos planned for Colombo have boosted Sri Lanka’s ambitious hopes of becoming Asia’s new gambling hot spot, but the projects still face political and religious opposition. The country legalized gambling in November 2010, with the aim of eventually luring cashed-up tourists to the island nation and boosting an economy battered by decades of ethnic war. The government granted approval to Sri Lanka’s John Keells group last week for a $850-million “mixed development” high end casinos, a euphemism for an entertainment hub that includes gambling. The green light was also given last month to the local partner of…