Sri Lanka’s casino mogul Ravi Wijeratne launches a Rs. 15 billion lawsuit against John Keells Holdings, accusing the corporate giant of betrayal, data theft, and sidelining him from the Cinnamon Life casino project in favor of a Hong Kong-based operator.
Veteran casino tycoon Ravi Wijeratne, alongside Rank Entertainment Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, has filed a blockbuster Rs. 15 billion lawsuit at the Colombo Commercial High Court, accusing John Keells Holdings PLC and its partners of breaching contractual obligations and misappropriating confidential business information.
The legal action names Waterfront Properties (Pvt) Ltd, John Keells Holdings PLC, Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, a Hong Kong-listed casino giant and Blue Heaven Services (Pvt) Ltd as defendants. The case, which centers on the controversial casino project at the Cinnamon Life integrated resort, was heard last Tuesday by High Court Judge M.Y.M. Irsadeen. The court ordered the defendants to file their responses by November 12, 2025.
In court filings, the plaintiffs revealed that since 2013, they have maintained a long-standing business relationship with Cinnamon Life and John Keells Holdings regarding the development of a high-end casino within the luxury resort complex. According to the plaintiffs, John Keells had agreed that a casino license held by Rank Entertainment Holdings would be allocated for the operation of a new casino at the Cinnamon Life resort.
They allege that for over a decade, Rank Entertainment Holdings paid millions in government fees to keep this license dormant, waiting for the promised opportunity to use it exclusively within Cinnamon Life. This prolonged inactivity, the plaintiffs argue, was intentional and based on mutual understanding with John Keells.
Further allegations point to substantial financial investments by Ravi Wijeratne and Rank Entertainment Holdings in the planning, designing, and initial development of the casino floor at Cinnamon Life. These efforts included strategic consulting, business model development, and design proposals, all of which the plaintiffs claim involved confidential and commercially sensitive information.
According to the lawsuit, despite these contributions and decades of expertise in Sri Lanka’s casino industry, John Keells Holdings and Waterfront Properties abruptly cut them out of the project. Instead, the casino license was allegedly handed over to Hong Kong-based Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd and its Sri Lankan subsidiary Blue Heaven Services (Pvt) Ltd, both of whom now operate the casino at Cinnamon Life.
The plaintiffs argue that this sudden shift represents not just a breach of trust and contract, but also an illegal exploitation of their proprietary business data. They assert that Cinnamon Life and John Keells had little to no prior knowledge of casino operations in Sri Lanka, and instead relied entirely on insights and strategies developed by Ravi Wijeratne and his company.
Legal counsel for the plaintiffs stated that the unauthorized use and sharing of this confidential data constitutes a violation of the Intellectual Property Act No. 36 of 2003, and is actionable under Sri Lankan law. The case is likely to test the boundaries of corporate accountability, data protection, and fair dealing within Sri Lanka’s booming hospitality and gaming industry.
As the case unfolds, it could send shockwaves through the business community, especially in sectors where strategic partnerships are often sealed with trust, not transparency.
