Act of Parliament · As enacted
Casino Business (Regulation) Act 2010
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
This Act may be cited as the Casino Business
(Regulation) Act, No. 17 of 2010.
No person shall, from and after January 1, 2012
engage in the business of a Casino other than under the authority of a valid license issued in that behalf by the
Minister, and within a specific area to be designated by the
Minister by Order published in the Gazette.
The Secretary to the Ministry of the Minister to whom the subject of Gaming is assigned shall cause to be published a Notification in a daily newspaper in the Sinhala, Tamil and
English languages giving adequate notice to the public of the requirement of having to obtain licences for carrying on the business of a Casino, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (1).
Any person who carries on the business of a Casino in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction after summary trial be liable to be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall extend to five years or to a fine of rupees five million or to both such fine and imprisonment.
s 3Licence to be subject to such terms and conditions
The licence issued in terms of section 2 shall be subject to such terms and conditions as are specified therein.
Regulations may be made specifying the criteria to be followed in setting out the terms and conditions and the manner of making an application for a licence and the procedure to be followed in issuing the same.
The Minister may make regulations for the purpose of carrying out or giving effect to the principles and provisions of this Act.
In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the powers conferred by subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations in respect of the following matters :–
any matter in respect of which regulations are authorized or required by this Act to be made;
the form of an application for a licence and the fees to be paid therefor and the period for which a licence so issued will be valid in relation to the different games for stake, being played at a Casino and any appropriate supervisory measures;
the procedure to be followed for granting of licences;
the procedure for the cancellation of licences.
Every regulation made by the Minister shall be published in the Gazette and shall come into operation on the date of the publication or on such later date as may be specified in the regulation.
Every regulation made by the Minister shall, as soon as convenient after its publication in the Gazette, be brought before Parliament for approval. Any regulation which is not so approved shall be deemed to be rescinded as from the date of disapproval, but without prejudice to anything previously done thereunder.
Notification of the date on which any regulation is so deemed to be rescinded shall be published in the Gazette.
s 5Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“Casino” means any premises to which individuals have access—
with or without payment;
whether as of right or not, for the playing of any game for a stake and includes the playing of baccarat, puntobanco, big six, black jack, boule, chemin - de - fer, chuck - a - luck, crown and anchor, faro, faro bank, hazard, poker dice, pontoon, American frcanch roulette, trente -
et - quarntc, vingt - et - um, or wheel of fortune or any other game which the Minister may from time to time by Order published in the Gazette, specify.
s 6Sinhala text to prevail in case of inconsistency
In the event of an inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail