Sri Lanka rolls dice on establishing gambling regulatory authority
Daily FT: In a bold step toward streamlining gaming and betting laws, the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday approved publishing the draft Bill on Gambling Sports Regularisation Act in the Government gazette and presenting the same in Parliament for approval. The move paves the way for a long-awaited overhaul of rules.
“The Gambling Sports Regularisation Act has received the clearance of the Attorney General and the draft Bill will now be published in the Government Gazette before being submitted to Parliament for approval,” Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said.
Addressing the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing, he said the authority is a powerful independent body tasked with overseeing and regulating all gambling-related activities in the country including offshore, onshore and online streams.
“The proposed authority will serve as the sole national regulator with a broad mandate, covering areas such as offshore gambling sports on ships and in the Colombo Port City, online gambling platforms and offshore casinos,” he added.
The proposal for the new authority stems from an earlier Cabinet decision made on 24 February 2025, to draft legislation.
The move marks a significant shift in how Sri Lanka governs the rapidly evolving gambling landscape, especially amid growing concerns around unregulated gaming and betting as well as its socioeconomic implications.
OSL take:
With Sri Lanka working towards becoming a hub in the South Asian region in business, trade and tourism, the move to regulate the gaming industry presents a host of new business/investment opportunities for foreign businesses/investors. Sri Lanka’s strategic positioning in the Indian Ocean that provides quick and easy access as well as the steadily growing tourism industry have created the ideal environment for the country to become one of the best destinations for the setting up of offshore and online gaming. The positive move by the Sri Lankan authorities to tap into the fast-evolving gambling landscape presents new business/investment opportunities for foreign businesses/investors on the lookout for lucrative business ventures. Foreign businesses/investors could also explore the expansion of opportunities that would emerge in the development of infrastructure and supplementary infrastructure facilities that would be required to meet the increasing demand for offshore and online gambling. The planned ventures in Sri Lanka’s offshore and online gambling could be further developed and expanded through partnerships and joint ventures between foreign businesses and local businesses.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20250430/Z_3 |