{"id":17579,"date":"2026-07-21T08:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/?post_type=asia&#038;p=17579"},"modified":"2026-07-21T06:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T11:06:17","slug":"sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october","status":"publish","type":"asia","link":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As of July 20, Sri Lanka continues to delay the implementation of its gambling regime. The first regulatory package, originally promised for <strong>June 30<\/strong>, is not expected to be finalized until <strong>October 2026<\/strong>, while unlicensed online platforms proliferate using cryptocurrencies and operating outside the formal banking system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/mve-ads\/?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-16352\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/ADS-MVE-300x250.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Appearing before the Committee on Public Finance, Gambling Regulatory Authority Acting Director General <strong>Gaya Adikari<\/strong> confirmed that the draft remains under review by an expert committee approved by the Cabinet. Its observations are expected before August. The first phase will include the ministerial order under <strong>Section 19<\/strong>, defining authorized gambling activities, alongside rules covering licensing, online gambling and anti-money laundering controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"491\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october2.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17581\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october2.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october2-300x147.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october2-768x377.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">COPF Chairman <strong>Harsha de Silva<\/strong> denounced repeated delays dating back to 2022 and warned that the country could become a hub for online scams. He questioned the committee\u2019s expertise. GRA Chairman <strong>N. M. W. Nawarathna Bandara<\/strong> and Adikari acknowledged that the authority had not consulted gambling operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october3.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17582\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october3.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october3-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october3-768x461.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Priyantha Weerasooriya<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Kumara Dharmawardena<\/strong>, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Inland Revenue, reported <strong>37 licensed sports-betting and horse-racing wagering operators<\/strong>, <strong>six licensed casino operators<\/strong> and only <strong>five currently operating<\/strong>. No online casino operator is officially registered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bandara declared that existing online gambling operations are illegal. Sections 15 and 16 require a valid licence and a company registered in Sri Lanka; violations carry penalties of up to <strong>LKR 10 million<\/strong> and <strong>two years in prison<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october4.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17583\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october4.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october4-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october4-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Inspector General of Police <strong>Priyantha Weerasooriya<\/strong> requested guidance from the Attorney General because authorities face obstacles when prosecuting offences directly under the legislation. Police currently rely on the <strong>Computer Crime Act No. 24 of 2007<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/landing\/multigame-link\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\" noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"700\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9622\" style=\"width:840px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng.jpg 700w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2024\/08\/multigame-diamod-III-700-eng-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>Gambling Regulatory Authority Act No. 17 of 2025<\/strong> has been in force since <strong>December 1, 2025<\/strong>. The delay concerns its operational regulations, which must be gazetted and submitted for parliamentary approval within three months. The responsible minister is President <strong>Anura Kumara Dissanayake<\/strong>, Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As of July 20, Sri Lanka continues to delay the implementation of its gambling regime. The first regulatory package, originally promised for June 30, is not expected to be finalized until October 2026, while unlicensed online platforms proliferate using cryptocurrencies and operating outside the formal banking system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17580,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2323,1488,57,5037,15,102,585,5065,2595],"class_list":["post-17579","asia","type-asia","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sin-categoria","tag-asia","tag-ban","tag-casinos","tag-casinos-online","tag-gambling","tag-online-betting","tag-online-gambling","tag-sport-betting","tag-sri-lanka","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As of July 20, Sri Lanka continues to delay the implementation of its gambling regime. The first regulatory package, originally promised for June 30, is not expected to be finalized until October 2026, while unlicensed online platforms proliferate using cryptocurrencies and operating outside the formal banking system.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As of July 20, Sri Lanka continues to delay the implementation of its gambling regime. The first regulatory package, originally promised for June 30, is not expected to be finalized until October 2026, while unlicensed online platforms proliferate using cryptocurrencies and operating outside the formal banking system.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"563\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/\",\"name\":\"Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-21T13:30:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"As of July 20, Sri Lanka continues to delay the implementation of its gambling regime. The first regulatory package, originally promised for June 30, is not expected to be finalized until October 2026, while unlicensed online platforms proliferate using cryptocurrencies and operating outside the formal banking system.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":563},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Portada\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Asia News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World\",\"description\":\"Gambling news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World","description":"As of July 20, Sri Lanka continues to delay the implementation of its gambling regime. The first regulatory package, originally promised for June 30, is not expected to be finalized until October 2026, while unlicensed online platforms proliferate using cryptocurrencies and operating outside the formal banking system.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World","og_description":"As of July 20, Sri Lanka continues to delay the implementation of its gambling regime. The first regulatory package, originally promised for June 30, is not expected to be finalized until October 2026, while unlicensed online platforms proliferate using cryptocurrencies and operating outside the formal banking system.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/","og_site_name":"Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":563,"url":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/","url":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/","name":"Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October - Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-21T13:30:00+00:00","description":"As of July 20, Sri Lanka continues to delay the implementation of its gambling regime. The first regulatory package, originally promised for June 30, is not expected to be finalized until October 2026, while unlicensed online platforms proliferate using cryptocurrencies and operating outside the formal banking system.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october.jpg","width":1000,"height":563},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/sri-lanka-delays-gambling-regulations-until-october\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Portada","item":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Asia News","item":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/asia\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sri Lanka delays gambling regulations until October"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/","name":"Mundo Video Entertainment | Casino News in Latin America and the World","description":"Gambling news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asia\/17579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asia"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/asia"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asia\/17579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17584,"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/asia\/17579\/revisions\/17584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mundovideo.com.co\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}