From days of casino king Joe Sim to ‘City of Dreams’

The Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) on August 12, 2025, approved the much-talked-about Gaming Authority Bill (GAB).

- By SHAMINDRA FERDINANDO

Director Legislative Services / Director Communication (Acting) of Parliament M. Jayalath Perera announced the CoPF decision two days later by a mere press release thereby literally hiding its importance from the public. Not that we blame the parliamentary employee as he was merely doing what he had been directed to do by his superiors.

The short press statement, headlined "Committee on Public Finance Approves the Gambling Regulatory Authority Bill," acknowledged that the decision was taken in the absence of CoPF Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva. Let me reproduce the relevant section: “Due to the overseas travel of the Chairperson of the Committee on Public Finance, Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, Hon. Member of Parliament Rauf Hakeem was appointed as the acting chairperson of the committee.”

Attorney-at-Law Hakeem is the leader of the SLMC, a key constituent of the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) consisting of 40 MPs.

Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe and MPs Ravi Karunanayake, (Dr.) Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Lakmali Hemachandra and Nishantha Jayaweera attended the meeting.

The CoPF approved the GAB over a week after the opening of ‘City of Dreams Sri Lanka’ that included, what the investors called, a world-class casino. In spite of mega Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan's unexpected decision to pull out of the grand opening on August 2, the investors went ahead with the restricted event. The Chief Guest was President Anua Kumara Dissanayake, who is also the Finance Minister, in addition to being the Defence Minister. Among the other notable invitees were Dissanayake’s predecessor Ranil Wickremesinghe whose administration gave critical support to the high profile project worth over USD 1.2 bn.

John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) and Melco Resorts & Entertainment (Melco) invested in the project that also consisted of the luxurious Niiwa hotel and a premium shopping mall.