Sri Lanka advances toward centralised gambling oversight with key bill approval
The bill will now advance to full parliamentary debate.
Sri Lanka.- The Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) has approved a bill to establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA). The bill, gazetted in May, will now advance to full parliamentary debate and potential enactment.
The GRA would be an independent entity tasked with licensing operators, collecting tax revenue, ensuring transparency and good governance, and combating illegal gambling. The bill would also replace the Horse Racing Betting Ordinance, the Gambling Ordinance, and the Casino Ordinance with a unified framework.
The GRA’s board will include high-level representatives, such as the secretary to the Ministry of Finance, the commissioner general of the Inland Revenue Department, the head of the Financial Intelligence Unit, and the inspector general of police, alongside three members appointed by the finance minister for three-year terms.
However, the bill has drawn criticism. The Colombo-based think tank Advocata Institute raised concern over the GRA’s independence, noting the finance minister’s powers to appoint the director general and board members, issue directives and create regulations. “The independence of a regulatory body is non-negotiable. Without it, we risk creating a framework that lacks credibility,” the institute stated.
Additional concerns include the absence of provisions for online gambling regulation, despite the sector’s rapid growth, no representation from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority, exclusion of state-run lottery boards from oversight, reliance on self-reported revenue by operators, and penalties for violations deemed too lenient compared to international standards.
The CoPF approval comes after the opening of the $1.2bn City of Dreams Sri Lanka integrated resort in Colombo on August 2. The project represents the nation’s largest private investment and aims to position Sri Lanka as a potential Macau alternative for Indian tourists.
Sri Lanka’s gambling market, valued at US$293.93m in 2020, is projected to reach US$410.04m by 2026. Proponents argue that the creation of the GRA will attract foreign investment, create jobs, and increase tax revenue amid efforts to recover from the 2022 financial crisis.
