Sri Lanka has ordered internet service providers to block 24 online gambling websites, including bet365.com, stake.com, betway.com and 1xbet.com, in the first enforcement action under the country’s new gambling legislation.
The Ministry of Digital Economy announced the order on 5 August 2026. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) directed all telecommunications service providers to block access with immediate effect, acting on a request from the Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA), which operates under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development.
The ministry said operating or promoting online gambling services in Sri Lanka without a valid licence issued under sections 15, 16 and 18 of the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, No. 17 of 2025 is an offence under section 44 of the Act.
The blocked domains are 1xbet.com, betway.com/en-lk, 22bet.com, melbet.com, unibet.com, betfair.com, dafabet.com, bet365.com, 1win.com, spinbetter.com, 10cric.com, bc.game, megapari.com, pin-up.bet, stake.com, mostbet.com, parimatch.com, betwinner.com, linebet.com, 4rabet.com, rajabets.com, dbbet.com, coldbet.com and WinWin.
The list mixes European-licensed brands with operators built for South Asian traffic. bet365, Betfair and Unibet sit alongside 10cric, 4rabet and rajabets, all of which market cricket betting to Indian and Sri Lankan customers. Several of the domains carry country-specific landing pages: the Betway entry is listed as betway.com/en-lk, the operator’s Sri Lanka page.
Neither the ministry nor the GRA named any operator as the subject of a separate prosecution, and the announcement did not state whether any of the 24 had applied for a Sri Lankan licence.
The Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, No. 17 of 2025 was certified by the Speaker on 3 September 2025 and came into operation on 1 December 2025. It created the GRA as a body corporate and repealed the Betting on Horse-Racing Ordinance, the Gaming Ordinance and the Casino Business (Regulation) Act, No. 17 of 2010, moving gambling oversight into a single statutory regulator.
The Act defines gambling broadly enough to capture remote play. “Digital gambling” covers interactive gaming, internet gambling and mobile gambling, and the Minister of Finance can add further formats by Order published in the Gazette under section 18.
Licensing runs through three linked requirements. Section 15 requires a gambling licence issued by the Director-General. Section 16 requires the applicant to be a company incorporated or registered under the Companies Act, No. 7 of 2007, with a minimum capital set by the Minister. Section 18 adds a separate digital gambling licence. The Director-General assesses the fitness and propriety of directors, senior managers, shareholders, key management personnel and beneficial owners before issuing a licence. Separate licences apply to gambling software developers and distributors, and to junket operators.
For an offshore operator, that architecture means a Sri Lankan corporate presence and disclosure of ownership before any legal market access. It is a materially higher bar than a blocking order alone suggests, and it is closer to the licensing route now common in newly regulated markets.
Carrying on gambling without a valid licence carries a fine of up to LKR 10 million (approximately USD 33,000) or up to two years’ imprisonment, or both. Advertising gambling carried on in contravention of the Act, financing unlawful gambling, or operating from unregistered premises each carry fines of up to LKR 100,000 or up to two years’ imprisonment. The Act allows an additional fine of up to LKR 1 million depending on the duration and gravity of the activity and the harm caused.
The advertising offence matters for affiliates and local media as much as for operators. Promotion of an unlicensed site is captured separately from operating one.
Domain blocking at ISP level is the standard first tool in these cases and its weaknesses are well documented. Users can reach blocked sites through VPNs, mirror domains and app-based clients, and operators can register replacement domains faster than regulators can list them. Payment blocking and action against affiliates and advertisers usually follow when the site list alone does not move traffic.
The pattern is familiar elsewhere. In April 2026 Brazil ordered Anatel to block 27 prediction market platforms, and in May Spain blocked Kalshi and Polymarket on licensing grounds. The scale of the underlying problem is set out in the Gambling Consultancy Index estimate that unregulated online gambling handled USD 5.9 trillion in wagers in 2025.
The GRA has not published a list of digital gambling licensees, and the Ministry of Digital Economy has said only that the public should not deposit money with unauthorised platforms operating outside the legal framework. The immediate questions are whether any of the 24 blocked brands apply for a licence rather than exit, whether the GRA extends the list as mirror domains appear, and whether enforcement moves from ISPs to payment processors and advertisers. The first licences issued under sections 15, 16 and 18 will show how open Sri Lanka intends the regulated channel to be.
Source: Sri Lanka Ministry of Digital Economy | theigaming
Welcome to Gambling Consulting Authority (GCA) - Your Strategic Partner in Gambling Industry Advancement
