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Sri Lanka To Create Casino Regulatory Authority To Address Online Gambling Concerns

The Sri Lankan government is advancing plans to establish a Casino Regulatory Authority to address concerns surrounding online gambling, tax evasion, and money laundering.

 According to reports, the new regulatory body will introduce clear operational guidelines and enhance transparency in revenue collection. It will be responsible for issuing licenses, monitoring financial transactions, and implementing consumer protection policies in line with global standards.

Additionally, the authority will enforce responsible gambling practices and combat illicit activities such as money laundering and underage gambling.

Sri Lanka’s casino and betting industry has been experiencing rapid growth. Valued at $293.93 million in 2020, the sector is projected to reach $410.04 million by 2026, with an annual growth rate of 5.24%. In 2024, the industry generated $376 million in revenue and is expected to rise to $396 million in 2025. Factors such as political stability, improved infrastructure, higher disposable incomes, and a growing interest in online gaming are fueling this expansion.

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The proposed Casino Regulatory Authority seeks to implement stricter oversight, ensuring the industry operates within a transparent and legally compliant framework. Apart from this, Sri Lanka is a popular tourist location over the years, with several tourists visiting the country for its historical importance, as well as its beaches.

The Asian continent has everything going to become the hub of poker and real money gaming, as well as online gaming and poker apps. Countries like Vietnam, Malaysia already host some of the biggest live poker series. Other countries, like India, are just about opening to the real money gaming industry,  with more online casino apps cropping up. It would be interesting to see how Sri Lanka’s steps to become a real money gaming behemoth turns out.

It’s not just the Asian countries that are looking to become poker venues, several areas in the Middle East are at it too. To begin with, Dubai has launched its gaming visa in 2024 and Wynn Resorts won the first gaming licence in UAE in the same year.

In India as wll, there are several states that have casinos, and real money gaming as an industry is seeing a boom, with companies putting in money to invest in poker apps. For example, Nazara Technologies has invested in PokerBaazi, and has increased its investment in recent years. There have been several positive developments regarding poker and real money gaming in India in recent times as well.

Gutshot Magazine provides all informatio n about real money gaming, including poker. We have all the information about the series, the winners lists and interviews with some of the biggest names in the industry.

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