Shaun McCamley: “Sri Lanka is moving from ‘negotiated’ to monitored compliance, and that’s a healthy shift long-term”

Sri Lanka’s new Gambling Regulatory Authority Act marks a decisive shift toward a unified, data-driven regulatory model for both land-based and online gambling. In this exclusive interview, Shaun McCamley outlines what the reform means for operators, investors, and the country’s emerging digital market.

Exclusive interview.- Shaun McCamley, founder and managing partner of Euro Pacific Asia Consulting Ltd (EPA), granted Focus Gaming News an exclusive interview to speak about Sri Lanka’s sweeping regulatory reform following the passage of the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act. With the country replacing a fragmented legal framework with a single, modernised regulator, McCamley offers insight into the government’s objectives, the operational changes ahead, and the challenges the new Authority will face as it seeks to reshape the gambling landscape.

From your perspective, what are the primary objectives Sri Lanka is seeking to achieve with the creation of the Gambling Regulatory Authority and the new regulatory framework?

From my perspective, the government is trying to do three things at once:

• Modernise an outdated patchwork of laws,
• Get serious about tax and revenue collection,
• Bring order to what has been, for years, a semi-regulated or grey market.

The new Gambling Regulatory Authority Act sweeps away multiple legacy instruments – including the old Gaming Ordinance, Betting on Horse Racing Ordinance, and the 2010 Casino Business (Regulation) Act – and replaces them with a single, consolidated framework and regulator. That tells you the intent: one rulebook, one referee, instead of fragmented oversight and political discretion. 

Second, there is an obvious fiscal objective. Sri Lanka is under pressure to broaden its tax base and improve transparency. The decision to raise the betting and gaming levy from 15 per cent to 18 per cent and to double the local casino entry fee from US$50 to US$100 is clearly about revenue, but also about signalling a more disciplined approach to gambling and social impact. 

Finally, by putting casinos, betting, offshore and ship-based gambling – and in time, online – under a single authority, the government is trying to curb illegal operations, improve AML/CTF controls, and reposition gambling as a regulated tourism and investment asset rather than a political headache.

In practical terms, what key operational changes do you expect land-based casino operators – and potential online stakeholders – to face once the GRA is fully functional?

For land-based operators, I’d expect three very practical shifts:

• Licensing, suitability and structure will tighten: Licences will be issued, renewed and potentially revoked by a single professional regulator, not via political channels. That usually means more detailed licensing conditions, fit-and-proper tests on shareholders and key executives, and clearer obligations around governance, internal controls and reporting. 
• Compliance will become data-driven and continuous: Operators should prepare for more structured reporting: drop and win data, player stats, suspicious transaction reports, responsible gaming KPIs and possibly real-time or near-real-time feeds from cage and gaming systems. In other Asian markets, once a central authority is created, the days of light-touch, relationship-based oversight tend to end quite quickly.
• Fiscal and social-policy measures will be enforced more consistently: The higher GGR levy and the increased local entry fee will be enforced by the GRA, not just the tax authorities. That will put pressure on margins, especially for locally driven properties, and make it harder to rely on informal arrangements or delayed payments.

For online stakeholders, the changes will be even more significant:

• Onshore licensing and ring-fencing. Any serious online operator targeting Sri Lanka will likely be required to obtain a GRA licence, host infrastructure locally or with approved providers, and comply with the same AML and responsible gaming standards as land-based. 
• Greater scrutiny of cross-border models. Offshore sites currently accessing Sri Lankan players without a local presence can expect increased payment blocking, ISP measures and enforcement over time, once the Authority’s digital capabilities mature.

In short, operators will move from “negotiated” compliance to codified, monitored compliance – which is healthy long-term, but will require serious investment in systems, people and processes.

Based on your experience in other Asian jurisdictions, what capabilities and structures does the GRA need to effectively regulate emerging sectors such as online gambling and social gaming, and where do you see the main challenges?

To regulate online gambling effectively, the GRA needs to be technology-first, not paperwork-first.

In practice, that means:

• A specialised igaming division with people who actually understand platforms, wallets, affiliates, payment flows and bonus mechanics – not just lawyers and ex-civil servants.
• A data and surveillance unit capable of ingesting live or near-live data from both land-based and online operators, using analytics to identify unusual patterns, problem gambling indicators and AML red flags.
• Strong partnerships with ISPs, payment providers and banks to tackle unlicensed online operators and channel players into the regulated market. 

Where social gaming is concerned, the current commentary around the Act suggests that lotteries and social games are explicitly outside the immediate scope of the GRA. That makes sense from a legislative workload perspective, but it does create a grey area: we know from other markets that social casinos, free-to-play apps and hybrid models often sit right on the line between pure entertainment and de facto gambling.

If, over time, Sri Lanka wants the GRA to have a say in social gaming, it will need:

• A clear definitional framework distinguishing gambling (wagering something of value for something of value) from social gaming (no cash-out, entertainment-led, often coin-based).
• A light-touch, proportionate regime for operator registration and consumer protection, so that genuine B2B social gaming and loyalty platforms – often used by licensed casinos as marketing and engagement tools – are not treated like full-blown gambling sites.

The main challenges I see are capacity and scope creep: trying to regulate everything – land-based, online, Port City, offshore, maybe social – with a young authority that is still building its people, systems and credibility. If they stretch the GRA too thin, illicit online operators will simply stay a step ahead, as we’ve seen in multiple Asian markets.

What do you foresee as the biggest obstacle for the GRA in its first year of implementation – political, institutional or market-related?

All three will play a role, but if I have to pick one, I’d say the biggest obstacle is institutional capacity under political and fiscal pressure.

Politically, the government has committed to a tight timetable: the Act comes into operation on 1 December 2025, and the Authority is supposed to be fully operational by mid-2026. At the same time, there are strong expectations – including from international partners – that gambling will deliver more tax revenue, better AML controls and fewer social harms.

That creates a very difficult starting point:

• The GRA has to hire talent, build systems and write secondary regulations at speed.
• It must be seen as independent and professional, not just another arm of the Ministry of Finance.
• And it has to make early licensing and enforcement decisions that will inevitably be politically sensitive.

If the Authority moves too slowly, the perception will be that nothing has changed, and the grey market continues. If it moves too aggressively, especially on tax and enforcement, there’s a risk of pushing play and investment offshore before the regulated online channel is ready to absorb it.

So for me, the core obstacle is: can the GRA build a credible, skilled institution quickly enough to match the ambition of the law?

Looking ahead over the next few years, how do you expect this regulatory shift to shape the development of Sri Lanka’s gambling industry in areas such as foreign investment, integrated resorts and the online channel?

If implemented well, this reform can be a net positive for Sri Lanka’s gambling industry.

For foreign investment and integrated resorts, investors have been waiting for exactly this: a unified law, clear licensing rules, and a single regulator with defined powers. Combine that with Port City and a broader tourism strategy, and Sri Lanka can realistically position itself as a mid-tier IR destination in the region – not Macau or Singapore, but a credible alternative with a differentiated tourism product.

The caveat is taxation and the entry policy. If GGR taxes and entry fees are set too high, or changed too frequently, that will deter large-scale IR commitments and push operators to focus on narrow, locals-driven models instead of true destination resorts. 

On the online channel, the direction of travel is clear: Sri Lanka is moving towards regulated igaming, with a dedicated authority to license and oversee digital operators. Done correctly, that will:

Bring a currently offshore, untaxed activity into the regulated net.

Allow land-based casinos and future IRs to develop omni-channel offerings – linking loyalty, wallets and experiences across physical and digital.

Provide a safer environment for players through accountable operators and enforceable standards.

For social gaming, the immediate impact is more indirect – the Act deliberately leaves social games outside the GRA’s core remit for now. But as land-based and online channels professionalise, I’d expect to see growing interest in social and free-to-play ecosystems as acquisition, engagement and loyalty tools that sit alongside real-money gambling, especially for licensed casinos and IRs targeting international visitors.

Overall, if Sri Lanka can match regulatory clarity with institutional competence, this shift will move the industry from an ad-hoc, politically driven environment to one where serious capital – both in bricks-and-mortar and in digital – can plan, invest and operate with confidence.

“If implemented well, this reform can be a net positive for Sri Lanka’s gambling industry.”

Shaun McCamley, founder and managing partner, Euro Pacific Asia Consulting Ltd (EPA).

Sri Lanka’s new Gambling Regulatory Authority Act marks a decisive shift toward a unified, data-driven regulatory model for both land-based and online gambling. In this exclusive interview, Shaun McCamley outlines…