20 April, 2024

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Is Online Gambling Legal in Sri Lanka?

Online gambling is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world today. Even though gambling has been around as a pastime for multiple millennia, it’s only recently that a large proportion of society has adapted and grown to become more receptive of digital platforms. That’s why there is a massive proliferation of online gambling sites all over the world. This is a phenomenon that was only further accelerated in the year 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. When physical land-based casinos started closing all around the world, many people had to resort to online versions of casinos in order to play their favorite games of chance and strategy.

Nowadays, the online gambling industry is quickly rising up to be a formidable economic force as the market grows with each passing second. Not only is there are an increasing supply of online casino operators from different parts of the globe, there seems to be an insatiable amount of demand from the market as well. People just can’t seem to get enough of online gambling. That’s why operators and developers are trying to come up with the most innovative methods of selling their services to the market. Through massive innovations like live dealer technology or even crypto-integration into various sites, digital casino platforms are doing their parts in trying to stay relevant in an increasingly competitive industry.

However, despite the growing popularity of the industry, there are still many countries that take hardline opposition stances against the gambling economy, particularly in the digital realm. One such example is the country of Sri Lanka. It’s a nation that’s situated off the southern coast of India. One of the biggest problems that many countries around the world face is the fact that internet penetration is not as advanced or as sophisticated as those in other nations. Sri Lanka is no exception to this and most citizens just don’t have easy access to the internet. As a result, there isn’t much pressure on the Sri Lankan government to regulate or legalize gambling on their end. In comparison to its neighboring country of India where technology is relatively more advanced, online casinos are a lot more accessible to their citizens. While it’s illegal to establish online gambling operations in India itself, citizens are able to access offshore sites in order to partake in their favorite gambling activities. It’s not the same in Sri Lanka wherein very few people have wide exposure to the internet and online recreation.

Despite all of this, there is still some form of gambling in Sri Lanka, just like the rest of the world. Most of the regulated gambling that’s done in Sri Lanka is done in a physical capacity through land-based establishments. As was mentioned, the government has seen no need to implement any rules or regulations around online gambling as it’s not as big of a demand as it is in other nations. However, since there are no laws surrounding online gambling, it’s assumed that Sri Lankan residents who do have access to the internet are likely using it to engage in online gambling themselves. Just like India, these residents will have to access off-shore digital platforms as Sri Lanka doesn’t grant any licenses to operators within the country.

Many experts believe that there is potential for the regulated gambling economy in Sri Lanka to grow. For the most part, the government has not adopted a very strict stance towards gambling and there have been no political moves that were designed to block residents from engaging in gambling activities. This leads many to believe that it’s possible for the gambling industry, whether online or land-based, to eventually grow and flourish within the Sri Lankan borders.

Again, since there are no licensing bodies within Sri Lanka, this means that players don’t necessarily have a select list of establishments or operators to choose from locally. That also means that the government can’t actively protect these players from any fraudulent online activity that might occur on dubious gambling websites. That’s why it’s advised for online players in Sri Lanka to take extra precautions in ensuring that the platforms that they use are legitimate and that they offer reputable services. The government doesn’t have the power to protect players from fraudulent activities on the internet beyond its own regulations. 

 

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