\u00a0Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 which began operations yesterday (December 1).\u00a0The Gambling Regulatory Authority Bill\u00a0\u2013 which seeks to create a single, independent authority to oversee all gaming and gambling activities \u2013 was passed in Parliament on 19 August 2025 and later certified by Speaker Dr Jagath Wickramaratne on September 3, 2025, finalising its passing into law as\u00a0Act No. 17 of 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe news comes just two months after President Anura Kumara Dissanayake first introduced plans for the regulatory body, a move that shows a keen interest in the country to develop a strongly regulated and responsibly managed gaming industry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Anil Jayantha Fernando<\/strong>, was clear that responsible, safe gaming is at the forefront of its mandate \u2013 \u201cThe focus is on regulation. That regulation will define which gambling activities are permitted, the restrictions that apply, and matters such as the revocation or cancellation of licenses,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIts main aim will be to amalgamate all gambling-related laws under a single, unified framework, replacing older, outdated pieces of legislation \u2013 such as the Betting on Horse Racing Ordinance, the Gaming Ordinance and the 2010 Casino Business Act. The Deputy Minister also highlighted that gambling in Sri Lanka carries \u201csignificant social and cultural implications.\u201d Assessing its impact, alongside economic considerations, will be top of the priority list for the new regulator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colombo \u2013 the country\u2019s financial hub \u2013 is already home to several brick-and-mortar casinos, with the newly launched City of Dreams Sri Lanka a gleaming feather in its cap. The integrated resort \u2013 which is also hosting SiGMA South Asia this week \u2013 features a 16,725-square-metre gaming floor, while the luxury hotel offers 427 apartments, 800 rooms and twenty restaurants and bars \u2013 including six speciality eateries. A five-storied shopping mall also connects to the hotel, making it an attractive hub for MICE tourism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SiGMA \u2013 Leading the global industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
That SiGMA South Asia\u2019s Day One is also the first day of regulated igaming in Sri Lanka is no coincidence. SiGMA has long positioned itself as a catalyst for sustainable market growth<\/strong>. With eight strategically located summits taking place next year in regions showing tremendous promise, the events are well placed to kickstart important dialogue on the implementation and importance of safe, responsible regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\nIn his opening remarks this morning at the first day of SiGMA South Asia\u2019s two-day conference, SiGMA founder Eman Pulis <\/strong>highlighted the sheer scale and immense potential of the South Asian market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cThey told us it cannot be done in Sri Lanka \u2013 but here we are \u2013 the first real gaming expo in the region. It\u2019s a booming market and between five countries a quarter of the world\u2019s population is thriving in gaming here. It fills us with joy to steer the industry, to bring them with us, so that we can learn from each other and watch this industry grow sustainably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We will not stop raising awareness that regulated gaming is the way to go.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SiGMA South Asia is taking place this week in Colombo at the recently opened integrated resort \u2013 Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams<\/strong>. 5,000 delegates are expected to attend, while the conference has attracted a top-tier line-up of over 1,000 exhibitors and sponsors and 100 speakers to its stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SiGMA South Asia is taking place this week in Colombo at the recently opened integrated resort \u2013 Cinnamon Life at City of Dreams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":176,"featured_media":777035419,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"is_press_release":true,"is_interview":false,"is_opinion":false,"focusai_summary":"Sri Lanka has officially launched its Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA), effective December 1, 2025, consolidating all gaming legislation under a single, unified framework. This regulatory development coincides with SiGMA South Asia in Colombo, hosted at the new City of Dreams Sri Lanka integrated resort, signaling the nation's commitment to a responsibly managed gaming industry. The move aims to replace outdated laws and foster sustainable market growth in the burgeoning South Asian region.","focusai_entities":"SiGMA, Cinnamon Life, City of Dreams Sri Lanka, Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando, Eman Pulis, Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA), Parliament","focusai_location":"Sri Lanka, Colombo","focusai_target_profile":"ceo_executive (0.9), regulator (1.0), compliance_legal (0.9), operator_casino (0.9), affiliate_publisher (0.7), marketing_crm (0.7), payments_fraud_aml (0.7), investor_analyst (0.9), supplier_vendor (0.8), journalist_researcher (0.9)","focusai_suggestions":[{"label":"GRA's Initial Mandate?","query":"What are the immediate operational priorities and specific regulatory frameworks the Sri Lankan Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) will implement to ensure responsible gaming and market integrity, particularly concerning B2B\/B2C licensing and taxation structures?"},{"label":"South Asia Market Potential?","query":"How will the newly established regulatory clarity in Sri Lanka impact the broader investment and operational landscape for iGaming operators and suppliers looking to capitalize on the \"booming\" South Asian market, as highlighted by SiGMA?"}],"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,159,16334],"tags":[24999],"class_list":["post-777035416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-articles","category-shows","category-south-asia-news","tag-sigma-south-asia-2025","press-release"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777035416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/176"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=777035416"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777035416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777035417,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/777035416\/revisions\/777035417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/777035419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=777035416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=777035416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/focusgn.com\/asia-pacific\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=777035416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}