Melco International Development Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed company, has confirmed that it has obtained a license to run a gaming venue in Sri Lanka over the next 20 years. The license was backdated and is effective from April 1, 2024, and will be available through April 1, 2044.
Melco Confirms 20-Year License for Sri Lanka’s First Casino
Presently, the company is developing the City of Dreams Sri Lanka casino, which is expected to launch before long, possibly in the third quarter of the current year, with operations handled by a designated Melco Resorts unit, Bluehaven Services (Private) Ltd, which is wholly owned by the company.
The project has cost $1 billion to develop in its whole, and it was built in partnership with John Keells Holdings Plc, a prominent real estate developer in the country. “The Sri Lanka casino is currently under development by the group and is expected to commence operations in the third quarter of 2025,” the company said in a filing.
Melco is hoping to better position its global brand with the introduction of the eponymous Sri Lanka casino project, which will allow it to leverage its name regionally and help boost local tourism while benefiting from its commercial casino operation, with emerging markets part of this plan.
“The group will continue to take a strategic, asset-light approach to global expansion, actively exploring new opportunities in emerging gaming markets,” Melco said. The City of Dreams Sri Lanka is the country’s first integrated resort, and it will feature 800 hotel rooms, various dining options, conference and meeting spaces, and more.
Melco Confident This Development Will Spur Economic Growth
Melco will manage the top five floors of the hotel property, branded under the Nuwa name, the company’s flagship hospitality division, which will feature 113 luxury rooms. The other 687 hotel rooms will be managed by a different entity.
Melco is confident that the arrival of the casino project will contribute to the local economic growth of Sri Lanka and has drawn examples with other similar developments in the region. Melco also invested $125 million specifically to ensure that the casino property will meet the highest international standards of immaculate casino gaming.