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Sri Lanka Inches Towards Creating a Gambling Regulatory Authority

The Cabinet of Sri Lanka has cleared a draft law to establish an autonomous body that will regulate online gambling, floating casinos, and offshore casinos within the Colombo Port City.

Put forward by Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as Finance and Planning Minister, the measure would establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for the nation’s gaming sector. According to reports, the bill would establish a “Gambling and Sports Regulation Authority” tasked with supervising onshore and offshore casinos, as well as online betting sites.

This draft bill builds on a February 2025 Cabinet decision that called for a transparent and well-defined regulatory framework for gambling in Sri Lanka. Having secured the Attorney General’s green light, the measure will be published in the Government Gazette and then tabled in Parliament for final approval. A surge in unregulated online betting—unlike Sri Lanka’s taxed brick‑and‑mortar casinos—has been draining potential state revenue.

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ALSO READ: Wynn Resorts Wins First Gaming Licence in UAE

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Responding to calls from the Committee on Public Finance, the draft law proposes a single watchdog to:

• Bring every form of gambling—land‑based, offshore, and online—under one rulebook,
• Tighten compliance, boost tax collection, and tackle social harms, and
• Provide investors with a clear and stable regulatory climate.

A robust framework should enhance investor confidence and help Sri Lanka compete in the legal gaming and sports-betting arena. Once published in the Gazette and tabled in Parliament, the Gambling & Sports Regulation Act will mark the first comprehensive overhaul of the nation’s gambling laws, setting the course for the future of online gaming and casino operations.

Real money gaming has been evolving in the mainstream for some time now. While it has already been accepted as a mindsport, other countries still seem undecided about how to handle the popularity of this segment. We will keep you informed about any further updates regarding this matter. 

While Sri Lanka is beginning to create a framework for online gambling, other countries in South East Asia and the Middle East are becoming more and more welcoming of the poker and real money gaming industry. For example, the UAE has recently given its first gaming licence to Wynn Resorts.

Gutshot Magazine provides all the relevant information about the real money gaming and poker industry. Right from poker tournament itineraries to interviews with some of the biggest names in the industry to winners’ lists of the poker series, we have it all. We also closely monitor corporate and federal decisions that may impact the poker and real-money gaming industry.

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