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Cinnamon Life was the name of the most awaited integrated resort in Sri Lanka, but it has been changed to City of Dreams Sri Lanka. This comes after a partnership agreement was signed between Melco Resorts & Entertainment and John Keells Holdings.
City of Dreams Sri Lanka will be the first integrated resort in Sri Lanka and South Asia. Experts expect it to revolutionize the hospitality industry and bring luxury entertainment and recreation to the country. The complex will have 800 hotel rooms, 687 of which are called Cinnamon Life and 113 of which are Nuwa. And that’s not all—it will also have 6,451m² of retail, entertainment, and gaming space, event venues for up to 5,000 people, and much more.
Popularity of gambling in Sri Lanka
Although the island state is not included in the list of countries where gambling has become a national pastime, the popularity of this type of vacation is growing year after year. Thousands of government residents not only play slots or roulette but also bet on sports. The reason for the popularity is the possibility of betting directly from the phone through convenient mobile applications.
Dozens of major international bookmakers operate in the Sri Lankan market. To attract attention, they form lines based on the preferences of the local population. The Indian cricket league is popular in Sri Lanka. And so the opportunity to bet on these competitions is presented by almost every bookmaker.
To ensure it is enough to analyze the sites with betting company reviews. The first place in the Google search results is owned by Cricketbettingapps, which our authors researched during the preparation of the article. This research ultimately confirmed all assumptions. Among IPL cricket betting apps, you can find many known bookmakers with good reputations. The popularity of these bookmakers in Sri Lanka only increases the overall interest in gambling.
Details of the license issuance
A 10-year casino license has been issued to Melco’s wholly owned local subsidiary Melco. In addition to the gaming area, the company will operate the top five floors of a hotel under its Nuwa brand with luxury rooms.
The company plans to open this integrated resort in phases. The gaming center and Nuwa will open around June or July 2025. Sri Lanka’s tourism players have favored the project. For example, Nishad Wijetunga, President of the Sri Lanka Inbound Tour Operators Association, said that the city lacks entertainment activities, so the resort will bring many benefits.
Hiran Cooray, an experienced hotelier and chairman of Jetwing Group, which owns several resorts across the island, also welcomed the new marketing approach for the capital city. According to him, Colombo is a vibrant city, but there have been certain hurdles to promote and position it. The resort could be a great solution to let the world know what Colombo still offers.
Krishan Balendra, Chairman of JKH, which also has resorts in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, said City of Dreams Sri Lanka addresses the country’s entertainment challenges. South and Southeast Asian tourists are also expected to enjoy visiting the casinos. Sri Lanka will benefit from Melco’s customer base in Southeast Asia.
Employment will be a big plus, as the resort will need many hospitality employees. The new facility will need to shed two and a half thousand workers. Many skilled workers left the country during the economic crisis in 2022, but they are slowly returning.
