The Government has decided to regulate all online gambling activities within the next month, reliable government sources said.
According to sources, all online gambling operations will be brought under the new legal framework established through the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act No. 17 of 2025, which recently came into force.
The authority established under the Act has now been set up, and its Board of Directors has been appointed. A President’s Counsel has been named as the Chairman of the Authority.
The Board will also include the Inspector General of Police, a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, and the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury.
At present, seven online gambling operators have been registered in Sri Lanka, while several others have expanded their advertising activities across the country.
Government sources said that the regulation of online gambling will be carried out through the newly established Gaming Authority.
Steps have been taken to set up the Gaming Authority as a single regulatory body to oversee and regulate all gaming operations in Sri Lanka. The necessary provisions for this have been made under the Act.
The Bill, which has now been passed into law, marks the first comprehensive attempt to regulate the gaming industry in Sri Lanka.
