Sri Lanka's capital may get more than one casino development as the national government says it won’t restrict new casinos to a small zone in Colombo.
Instead, the government will also allow projects in other parts of the city, with one similar to Crown’s proposed casino there already emerging. A group called Waterfront Properties, the majority owner of which is John Keells Holdings, is proposing a $650m casino to be developed in two phases. The project would include a luxury hotel and condos, convention centre, retail and office space, in addition to a casino.
The project from Lake Leisure, the joint venture between Crown and Rank Holdings, was revealed by the government last week. Sri Lanka has eight small casinos and there has been considerable speculation that it wants to allow full casino resorts to boost tourism.
