The Bill to establish the Gambling Regulatory Authority has received the approval of the Committee on Public Finance.

The Bill was approved at the meeting of the Committee on Public Finance held on 12.08.2025 under the acting chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Rauf Hakeem. Due to the overseas travel of the Chairperson of the Committee on Public Finance, Hon. Member of Parliament (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, Hon. Member of Parliament Rauf Hakeem was appointed as the acting chairperson of the committee.

The Bill was discussed on several occasions in the Committee on Public Finance and it provides for the establishment of the Gambling Regulatory Authority as an independent regulatory body with a broad scope to standardize betting and gaming establishments in Sri Lanka, minimize social harm, develop the tourism sector and grow the economy.

Furthermore, the Committee considered and approved the Resolution under Section 10 of the Customs Ordinance (Chapter 235) regarding import duties published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2434/02 dated 28.04.2025, the Order under Section 3 of the Excise (Special Provisions) Act, No. 13 of 1989 published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2434/04 dated 28.04.2025, and the Regulation under Section 19 read with Section 51 of the Finance Act, No. 35 of 2018 regarding luxury tax on motor vehicles published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2434/05 dated 28.04.2025.

The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister Chathuranga Abeysinghe, Members of Parliament Ravi Karunanayake, (Dr.) Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra and Nishantha Jayaweera.