{"id":117906,"date":"2014-01-04T00:29:10","date_gmt":"2014-01-03T18:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=117906"},"modified":"2014-01-19T01:49:29","modified_gmt":"2014-01-18T20:19:29","slug":"chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting &#038; Gaming Levy Act"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Good governance activist\u00a0and former\u00a0Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce,\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s=Chandra+Jayaratne&amp;x=9&amp;y=5\">Chandra Jayaratne<\/a><\/span>\u00a0has written to the\u00a0Minister of Economic Development and\u00a0the Minister of Investment Promotion requesting clarifications on the\u00a0provisions of the Casino Business (Regulation) Act and Betting &amp; Gaming Levy Act.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_66413\" style=\"width: 221px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66413\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-66413\" alt=\"Chandra Jayaratne\" src=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne-211x300.jpg\" width=\"211\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne-211x300.jpg 211w, https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg 251w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 211px) 100vw, 211px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-66413\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chandra Jayaratne<\/p><\/div>\n<p>His letter to the Ministers in full is found below:<\/p>\n<p>3<sup>rd<\/sup> January 2014.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Registered Post<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hon. Minister of Economic Development,<\/p>\n<p>Ministry of Economic Development,<\/p>\n<p>Colombo.<\/p>\n<p>Hon. Minister of Investment Promotion,<\/p>\n<p>Ministry of Investment Promotion,<\/p>\n<p>Colombo.<\/p>\n<p>Honorable Ministers,<\/p>\n<p><b><i><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Seeking Clarification Re Application of the Provisions of the Casino Business Regulations &amp; Betting &amp; Gaming Levy Act<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p>The Daily FT of Friday, January 3<sup>rd<\/sup> 2014, page 14, presents a pictorial account of the \u201cThe Gatsby Party\u201d held on the New Year\u2019s eve at a Hotel in Sri Lanka, and carries a picture titled \u201c Bally\u2019s Gaming Lounge was a hit\u201d, implying that a gaming lounge was operated that night at the Hotel, presumably by a licensed Casino Operator.<\/p>\n<p>I would be most grateful, if in the interest of all stakeholders of society, (especially the private sector business operators, private clubs and citizen groups engaged in tourism, entertainment, leisure and gaming activities as well as citizens using such services and investors in such businesses), you will take URGENT steps to clarify the following issues in terms of the provisions of the Casino Business (Regulation) Act and Betting &amp; Gaming Levy Act;<\/p>\n<p>1. Are private sector business operators, private clubs and citizen groups, engaged in tourism, entertainment, leisure and gaming activities free to legally permit and allow business premises, private properties, residences and public places for occasional or regular operation of a gaming lounge by a licensed casino operator?<\/p>\n<p>2. If the operations referred to in 1 above are legally permitted, ;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Are there special regulations applicable to such operations which must be complied by the licensed casino operators as well as by any private sector business operators, private clubs and citizen groups?<\/li>\n<li>If there are special regulations, do they define the places, areas and zones of the island Sri Lanka, adjoining islands and the sea and rivers around island, where such operations may be permitted and \/or are there any such other special or exempted zones where such activities are freely permitted?<\/li>\n<li>Are the licensed Casino Operators required to have a special permit, prior registration and compliance with specified regulatory processes and due accounting of revenue from such operations to engage in such activities?<\/li>\n<li>Are the private sector business operators, private clubs and citizen groups allowing and \/ or inviting the casino operators to operate a gaming lounge temporarily or on a regular basis required to obtain any permit or license on a temporary or permanent basis prior to permitting such activities?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>3. If the operations referred to in 1 above cannot legally be permitted under the presently applicable statutory or regulatory framework;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What penal consequences will apply to the licensed operators and private sector business operators, private clubs and citizen groups allowing their premises to be used for such activities?<\/li>\n<li>What enforcement action is likely in such an event and by whom?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>4. Will you in the interest of all stakeholders of society make public the clarifications sought above?<\/p>\n<p>Kindly note that the above clarifications are sought in public interest and in line with the assurance of good governance and upholding of the rule of law, all of which are paramount commitments of the present government and so outlined in the Mahinda Chinthana.<\/p>\n<p>Yours Sincerely,<\/p>\n<p>Chandra Jayaratne<\/p>\n<p>cc. Hon Minister of Finance &amp; Planning<\/p>\n<p>Secretary to the President,<\/p>\n<p>Secretary, Ministry of Finance &amp; Planning,<\/p>\n<p>Secretary, Ministry of Economic Development,<\/p>\n<p>Secretary, Ministry of Investment Promotion,<\/p>\n<p>Secretary, Ministry of Justice,<\/p>\n<p>Inspector General of Police,<\/p>\n<p>Chairman, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce,<\/p>\n<p>Editor, Daily Financial Times<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":66413,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,1,6969,2375],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-colombotelegraph","category-news","category-popular-stories","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting &amp; Gaming Levy Act - Colombo Telegraph<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting &amp; Gaming Levy Act - Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Colombo Telegraph\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-01-03T18:59:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-01-18T20:19:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"251\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"356\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/\",\"name\":\"Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting & Gaming Levy Act - Colombo Telegraph\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-01-03T18:59:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-01-18T20:19:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg\",\"width\":\"251\",\"height\":\"356\",\"caption\":\"Chandra Jayaratne\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting &#038; Gaming Levy Act\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/\",\"name\":\"Colombo Telegraph\",\"description\":\"In journalism truth is a process\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3\",\"name\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting & Gaming Levy Act - Colombo Telegraph","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting & Gaming Levy Act - Colombo Telegraph","og_description":"[&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/","og_site_name":"Colombo Telegraph","article_published_time":"2014-01-03T18:59:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2014-01-18T20:19:29+00:00","og_image":[{"width":251,"height":356,"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/","name":"Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting & Gaming Levy Act - Colombo Telegraph","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg","datePublished":"2014-01-03T18:59:10+00:00","dateModified":"2014-01-18T20:19:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg","width":"251","height":"356","caption":"Chandra Jayaratne"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/chandra-wants-answers-on-casino-business-regulation-act-and-betting-gaming-levy-act\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chandra Wants Answers On Casino Business (Regulation) Act And Betting &#038; Gaming Levy Act"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/","name":"Colombo Telegraph","description":"In journalism truth is a process","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/9db3d0cfcfa59e1997e3c3524d454cb3","name":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/920b3181b0bf86b5c339ad9f0963a89f6a8b19c4b971e629987a021ba7a663df?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"COLOMBO TELEGRAPH"},"url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/author\/colombo_telegraph\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/Chandra-Jayaratne.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117906"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117939,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117906\/revisions\/117939"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/66413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}