TLDR
- Sri Lanka’s gambling regulator now aims to publish casino and online gambling rules by December 31.
- The authority missed its earlier June 30 deadline after more vetting of the draft.
- The rules will cover licensing, fees, online gambling, and anti-money laundering controls.
- Parliament must approve the rules within three months of publication.
- A lawmaker says the delay is leaving tax revenue uncollected.
Sri Lanka’s Gambling Regulatory Authority now plans to publish its casino and online gambling rules by December 31. The authority missed its earlier deadline of June 30.
The new date also falls after November 30, when the authority had planned to become fully operational. GRA Director General Wickramasinghe told The Sunday Morning that the rules were being finalized.
An international advisory team prepared the draft rules. A committee then reviewed the draft and returned it to the authority for completion.
What the First Rules Will Cover
The first package is expected to cover licensing and fees, online gambling, and anti-money laundering controls. It will also include a ministerial order listing which types of gambling are allowed under the law.
In July, the GRA said the delay was due to further vetting of the draft. The latest update shows the proposals are back with the authority after committee review, but they have not yet been published.
Publishing the rules will not finish the process. Under the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, the regulations must also go to Parliament for approval within three months of publication.
The December deadline covers only the publication of the rules. Parliamentary approval is a separate legal step and was not completed through the committee’s review of the draft.
Lawmaker Raises Revenue and Oversight Concerns
Harsha de Silva, chairman of Parliament’s Committee on Public Finance, criticized the government for failing to introduce the rules. He said the delay was leaving large amounts of potential tax revenue uncollected.
De Silva also alleged that foreign-linked online gambling businesses were operating in Sri Lanka without proper financial oversight. He pointed to the gap between setting up a regulator and giving it the rules it needs to do its job.
Information presented to Parliament in July showed Sri Lanka had six licensed casino operators. Five of them were operating at the time.
The country also had 37 licensed sports betting and horse-racing operators. However, Inland Revenue Department officials told the finance committee that no online casino operators were registered with the department at that time.
That statement referred only to registration with the department. It did not concern the number of licensed land-based casinos or betting businesses.
According to the department’s annual performance report, the government collected LKR14.91 billion, or about $50 million, in 2024. The money came from the Betting and Gaming Levy and casino license fees.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority Act No. 17 of 2025 took effect on December 1, 2025. It placed casinos, betting, and online gambling under a single regulator.
Under the law, digital gambling operators must obtain a separate license. The finance minister can also decide which forms of gambling are allowed by issuing a gazette order.
Many of the Act’s provisions still need supporting regulations before they can take effect. The GRA has said it is finalizing the proposals ahead of its new December 31 target.
