Sri Lankan Cabinet Approves Creation of New National Gambling Regulator

^{Pictured: Colombo, Sri Lanka}

On April 21, 2025, the Sri Lankan Cabinet signed off on the publication of a draft bill aimed at legalizing and regulating sports betting nationwide.

The proposed legislation, titled the Gambling Sports Regulation Act, will now appear in the Government Gazette before heading to Parliament for debate and final approval.

If passed, the law would establish a new national regulator — the Gambling Regulation Authority — tasked with overseeing all sports betting activity. Its jurisdiction would extend across several key areas:

• Betting activities linked to sports
• Onshore and offshore gambling on ships
• Wagering activity in the Colombo Port City
• Online gambling platforms

Under the draft, the new Authority would hold full responsibility for licensing, monitoring compliance, and enforcing regulatory standards.

It would also handle key functions like issuing and renewing operator licenses, setting technical benchmarks, ensuring AML and KYC protocols, and managing safer gambling tools such as deposit limits and self-exclusion lists.

Last year, we reported that members of Sri Lanka’s parliament called for swift action to legalize online casinos.