COLOMBO — The Committee on Public Finance (COPF) recently held extensive deliberations regarding the operational progress and future roadmap of the Gambling Regulatory Authority, assessing the essential institutional steps required to establish a comprehensive governance framework for both physical and online gaming in Sri Lanka. During the session, the committee closely examined the procedural timeline surrounding the implementation of oversight mechanisms, with members highlighting the urgency of bringing structure to the market and emphasizing the broader socio-economic risks, particularly the vulnerability of younger demographics, in the absence of robust enforcement.
Addressing these key operational concerns, members of the Authority’s management board disclosed that a specialized expert committee, chaired by former Deputy Solicitor General Suranga Wimalasena, has been formally appointed to review and refine the draft regulations before they are officially gazetted.
This expert panel under DSG Wimalasena’s leadership forms the cornerstone of the preliminary phase, tasked with conducting a thorough legal and operational review to ensure the statutory architecture is seamless. The board further detailed that the forthcoming regulatory roll-out will prioritize the most critical frameworks, specifically targeting online gambling oversight, Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) criteria, comprehensive licensing protocols, and the issuance of key ministerial orders under Section 19. While parliamentary members reiterated the strict necessity of adhering to implementation deadlines, the deployment of DSG Wimalasena’s committee marks a decisive step toward formalizing the statutory tools required for full-scale regulatory enforcement.