The long-awaited Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) is scheduled to be established and operational by 30 June 2026, according to Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva.
Dr. de Silva said the timeline followed recommendations made by the COPF to the Treasury and the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to expedite the process in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) standards on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing.
“The legislation to establish the authority is already in place. What we now need are the detailed regulations that will make it operational,” Dr. de Silva said.
Dr. de Silva said the next step was to draft and enact regulations and by-laws defining how casinos and gaming operations would be regulated.
“These regulations will specify licensing procedures, conditions of operation, penalties for violations, and actions for non-compliance. We need to safeguard the Government’s tax revenue while also protecting consumers from the risks of unregulated gambling,” he said.
He further claimed that the Treasury would obtain international consultancy support to prepare the regulatory framework, using models such as Singapore’s system as a reference. “When we had these discussions, it was notified that Sri Lanka did not have experts who could conduct such obligations, so therefore, we will seek international expertise on the subject,” he said.
Dr. de Silva identified online gambling as a major concern, noting that it remained outside existing laws. He said that foreign betting platforms advertised widely, and based on discussions with the Treasury and IRD, it had been notified that about 60–70% of all gaming activity occurred online.
“Online gambling has become a major grey area,” he said. “We have been discussing the need to regulate this sector for years, but there has been little progress. This legal vacuum poses both financial and social risks.”
The proposed authority will therefore regulate both physically located casinos and online betting platforms under a unified licensing and taxation framework.
The establishment of the authority is intended to strengthen oversight of the gaming industry and improve compliance with international financial standards. “This is not merely about gambling regulation. It’s about good governance, compliance, and protecting Sri Lanka’s reputation in the international financial system,” Dr. de Silva said.
Meanwhile, a senior official from the Department of Fiscal Policy, speaking on condition of anonymity, clarified that while the legal groundwork for the Gambling Regulatory Authority had been completed, the authority itself was yet to become operational.
The official explained that the Casino Business (Regulation) Act, originally enacted in 2010, lacked the necessary implementing regulations for over a decade.
“These were only finalised and issued in 2022, paving the way for the formal establishment of the regulatory body. With the regulatory foundation now complete, the next step is to constitute the authority formally,” the official said, adding that the Minister in charge of Finance, the President, had been requested to nominate suitable members to the GRA’s Board.
The proposed Board will consist of seven members, including four ex officio representatives: the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, the Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Inspector General of Police (IGP), and the Secretary to the Treasury. These officials, or their designated representatives, will serve alongside three additional members appointed by the Minister.
Once the Board is appointed, the date of implementation of the act will be formally gazetted, allowing the authority to commence operations.
Commenting on the issue of international expertise, the official noted that the law explicitly empowered the Board to engage consultants and technical specialists, both local and foreign.
Attempts to contact Deputy Minister of Economic Development Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando and other officials from the Department of Fiscal Policy, IRD, and Treasury were futile.