Sri Lanka’s COPF (Committee on Public Finance) has asked for an inquiry into the delayed establishment of a gaming regulator. This action was taken to attract possible investment and recover lost finances caused by this delay. During the investigation, COPF summoned the Director-General of Fiscal Policy to assess the situation and address this delay.
The investigation seeks to help COPF get a rough idea of potential financial losses the government faced. During the meeting, COPF disclosed that the gaming regulator was not established under the deadline of 31 Dec 2023. The committee wants the Director-General and other officials to present a report of strategy to tackle the outstanding taxes.
They also mentioned in the meeting that insufficient gaming regulation is resulting in substantial losses to the government. COPF has also emphasized the urgency they think is necessary for enacting the legislation. Not only that, Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry has also emphasized the need for an expert and robust revenue model similar to that of Singapore.
Following that concern, COPF has asked the Director-General of Fiscal Policy to report about all the online and physical casinos. They have also asked for casinos’ tax amounts. A grant period of two weeks has also been given to the officials in order to compile all the essential information on this case.
Necessity Of Gaming Regulator And Related Losses Till Now
In June 2023, a green signal was given to the gaming regulatory establishment, and the country’s cabinet of ministers went ahead with this to govern tax collections. According to official reports, the regulatory body would govern tax collections and counter gaming fraud and criminal impacts. If the regulatory body had been established, it would have aimed at ensuring fair tax pay by all casino operators.
The country’s government has faced losses due to the lack of regulatory oversight. According to some estimates, around $7.4 Million in casino taxes has been lost during the last couple of months. The Finance Ministry is working on establishing new licensing rules to regularise gaming in the country. They are going to include licenses for up to 20 years, with a renewable license cost of $1.3 Million.
In addition to all the gaming regulations, COPF has considered placing an order under section 3 of the Strategic Development Projects Act, No.14. Another order has been put under the Import And Exports Control Act, no.1, in 1969. The committee has followed the Deliberation and has initiated the order and regulation.
Taking cue from Singapore’s failsafe regulatory bodies for their gaming establishments, COPF is also focused on forming a robust regulatory body. The Finance Ministry and the COPF are considering this robust framework for financial transparency and boosting their economic growth.
Now, the investigation is giving a grant period of two weeks and a deadline of March 31st to all the officials. They have been tasked with proposing a strategic report underscoring the need for regulatory gaps. For the time being, the Sri Lankan government is focused on coming up with ideas to enhance its finances in the gaming sector.
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