What the dates mean
Original research cutoff: . This bounded revision checked selected official records on . It corrects the Act number and a player-tax claim, then separates the statute's powers from actual licences. It does not establish the complete current set of orders, approved games or operators.
The most consequential correction is simple: Parliament's enacted Act is No. 17 of 2025. The previous page called it No. 16 and dismissed No. 17 as a reporting error. Both the enacted text and Parliament's Act record settle the identity.
Sri Lanka at a glance
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| Topic | Reference point | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Original research cutoff | 1 May 2026 | The earlier snapshot keeps its date; it was not a continuing legal determination. |
| Bounded source review | 27 September 2026 | Selected official Act, Gazette and tax records were checked. No complete current licence register was verified. |
| Governing Act | Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, No. 17 of 2025 | Certified 3 September 2025; the commencement order appointed 1 December 2025. |
| Digital gambling | Separate licence and game authorization | The Act provides a digital licence category. It does not itself identify an authorized remote poker product or operator. |
| Existing casino licences | Conditional statutory continuation | Section 78 continues a casino licence only if it was in force immediately before the appointed date; it does not name venues. |
| Operator levies | 18% gross collection; USD 100 citizen entry | From 1 January 2026, 18% applies above LKR 1 million monthly gross collection; the entry levy concerns Sri Lankan citizens entering a gaming place. Neither is a player's winnings tax. |
The national Act and the separate digital licence
The Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, No. 17 of 2025 was certified on 3 September 2025. Gazette Extraordinary 2463/03 was signed on 16 November, published on 17 November and appointed 1 December 2025 as the operative date. Sri Lanka has a national, not a federal, regulator under section 4. Section 2 expressly excludes the two named state lottery boards and the Act's narrowly defined non-remote social gambling from its application; that exclusion is no online-poker exception.
Section 78 repeals the Betting on Horse-Racing Ordinance, Gaming Ordinance and Casino Business (Regulation) Act No. 17 of 2010. It also preserves earlier casino regulations that are consistent with the new Act and casino licences that were valid immediately before commencement. That is a conditional transition rule, not proof that any named venue has a current licence.
Three questions before a remote game can be described as authorized
- Who may conduct gambling? Section 15 requires a licence. Section 16 describes company applications, prescribed forms and fees, and minimum capital specified by ministerial order. An applicant may be incorporated or registered under the Companies Act, No. 7 of 2007.
- Is digital activity separately licensed? Section 18 says a licensee must also hold a digital gambling licence to carry on digital gambling. It allows the manner of digital gambling to be specified by Gazette order. Section 33 separately addresses licences for developing, distributing or operating gambling software.
- Is the particular game approved? Section 19 provides for ministerial orders specifying authorized types of gambling, including digital types. Section 20 provides for the Authority to review and approve a licensee's rules and list of games. A broad digital category cannot substitute for those specific records.
The Act's definition of gambling includes online gaming and poker dice; it does not, merely by naming a poker variant, grant a remote peer-to-peer Texas Hold'em licence. The official records checked for this revision did not yield a complete current register tying an operator, digital licence and approved poker game together. Their absence from this search is not a finding that no licence has ever been issued. The Central Bank's 2025 annual review records the Authority's establishment on 1 December 2025, and Financial Intelligence Unit reports in 2026 name it among participating regulators; it should not be described simply as nonexistent or wholly inoperative.
One dated enforcement notice
On 7 August 2026, Sri Lanka's official government news portal reported in Sinhala that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission had instructed providers on 6 August to restrict access to 122 listed unauthorized online-gambling website entries, following a notice from the Gambling Regulatory Authority. The published list contains repeated addresses, so “122” describes its entries rather than a verified count of distinct services. This is an attributed official action, not evidence that every restriction took effect or a complete account of enforcement.
The notice shows the Authority taking action under the Act after commencement. It does not establish that a remote poker licence exists, that one does not exist, or the legal position of a particular player. The former claim that licensing was wholly “not operative” should not be inferred from the absence of regulations found in an earlier search.
Business, entry and winnings taxes answer different questions
In its 31 December 2025 notice to gaming businesses, the Inland Revenue Department says the monthly gross-collection levy increased from 15% to 18% from 1 January 2026 where gross collection exceeds LKR 1 million. This is a levy on the business, not a tax rate to apply to a player's winnings. The Department's published interpretation of “gross collection” treats it as collections less winnings paid, with no other expenses deducted. It predates the 2025 rate amendment; the later notice supplies the rate and start date.
The same IRD notice says a gaming business must collect a USD 100-equivalent entry levy from a Sri Lankan citizen entering its gaming place, increased from USD 50 on 1 January 2026. It is a land-venue entry rule. It does not identify a licensed venue or affect remote poker authorization. IRD's Act index lists the Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Act, No. 25 of 2025, certified 17 December 2025.
The earlier guide said its cited IRD Circular SEC/2020/04 imposed 10% withholding only on gambling winnings over LKR 500,000. The circular actually states 14% for lottery, reward, betting or gambling winnings; its LKR 500,000 exception concerns lottery winnings. The IRD's 2025/26 tax chart also lists 14%. These sources expose the old error, but a complete 2026/27 tax review and payment-specific classification are still needed before stating a present personal rate or offshore filing rule.
What the live-poker record can show
Land-based casino activity and online peer-to-peer poker are distinct. A casino's description of Texas Hold'em, house-banked poker variants or a tournament cannot itself establish a current licence or authorize a remote game. The prior guide named four “transitioning” casinos, asserted their poker stakes and schedules, and speculated about MGM Colombo's status. Section 78 does not name any of them.
This bounded review found no regulator-issued venue list or organizer's dated Sri Lankan tournament result supporting those claims. A specific historical event remains worth documenting when its first-hand record can be checked; no such event is asserted here. The absence of an event from a search is not proof that it never happened.
Research and safety resources
Questions about a particular activity require the current Gazette orders, licence and game-approval records, and appropriately qualified Sri Lankan advice. The 2025 Act and a business-tax notice alone cannot answer them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Gambling Regulatory Authority Act applies in Sri Lanka?
The enacted statute is the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, No. 17 of 2025, certified on 3 September 2025. Gazette Extraordinary 2463/03, published on 17 November after signature on 16 November, appointed 1 December 2025 for commencement. The earlier version of this guide incorrectly called it No. 16 of 2025; No. 17 of 2010 is a different, repealed casino statute.
Does the Act make real-money online poker available?
The Act defines digital gambling and requires a separate digital gambling licence. It also provides for ministerial orders specifying authorized types of gambling and for approval of a licensee's game list. Those provisions do not by themselves establish that a particular remote poker game, operator or player's participation is authorized. This bounded review could not verify a complete current public licence and game-approval record.
Can a land-based casino licence cover online poker?
No such conclusion follows from the Act. Section 78 conditionally continues earlier casino licences that were valid immediately before commencement; section 18 separately requires a digital gambling licence for digital activity. The statute's savings provision does not list which casinos qualified, their present status or any online poker approval.
What changed in the 2026 betting and gaming levies?
An Inland Revenue Department notice dated 31 December 2025 says that, from 1 January 2026, the business gross-collection levy rose from 15% to 18% where monthly gross collection exceeds LKR 1 million. It also says gaming businesses must collect a USD 100-equivalent entrance levy from Sri Lankan citizens entering their gaming premises, up from USD 50. These business and entry levies do not establish a player's winnings tax or a venue's licence.
Is there a 10% tax only on poker winnings above LKR 500,000?
The cited 2020 Inland Revenue circular does not say that. It states a 14% withholding rate for lottery, reward, betting and gambling winnings; its LKR 500,000 exception expressly concerns lottery winnings. The Department's 2025/26 chart also lists 14%. Neither source alone completes a 2026/27 assessment or decides how a particular poker payment is classified, so this guide does not give a personal tax rate.
Primary sources and what remains open
Selected English-language official records were checked on 27 September 2026. The original 1 May 2026 research cutoff remains visible. A statutory power, a tax notice, a venue's own website and a current licence register answer different questions.
- Parliament's enacted Act No. 17/2025 (PDF) and Act record: identity, scope, licensing provisions, exclusions and transitional savings.
- Government Printer's 2025 Gazette index, entry 2463/03: publication of the commencement order on 17 November 2025. The direct PDF was inaccessible during this check; its official indexed text gave the 1 December appointed date, also recorded in the Central Bank review.
- IRD's 31 December 2025 notice, Act 25/2025 listing, and gross-collection interpretation: operator/entry levies and their distinct scope.
- Government news portal, 7 August 2026 (Sinhala): a reported GRA/TRCSL restriction notice, not a verified technical result or licence list.
- IRD Circular SEC/2020/04 and 2025/26 tax chart: the basis for withdrawing the previous 10%/LKR 500,000 poker-tax claim, not a complete 2026/27 tax determination.
- Central Bank annual review and FIU 2026 notices: evidence that the Authority was established and participated in regulatory work, not evidence of a remote poker licence.
A complete current set of Gazette regulations and orders under sections 16, 18, 19 and 76, an official digital-licence register, named game approvals and a consolidated 2026/27 tax position were not verified. The earlier page's 30 June 2026 implementation deadline, “no licences,” four-venue list, no-major-tour claim and player-tax advice are withdrawn rather than republished as current facts.
Related country research
Each guide has its own dates and source limits. Another jurisdiction's rules cannot settle Sri Lanka's.