Sri Lanka Moves Forward with Proposal to Increase Betting Levy, Increase Fees for Casinos for Locals

The Sri Lankan government has passed a proposal, tied to its 2025 budget, that will also raise the betting levy and will now ask locals to pay more to access casino floors. The change to the levy is 3%, from 15% presently to 18% after the proposal takes effect.

Gambling Levy Goes Up, Along with Entry Fees for Locals

As to how much locals would need to pay to access a casino floor locally, the fee would change from $50 to $100. This would require a Betting Gaming Levy Act review, which is already underway, and will only focus on applying these two new changes.

Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa commented on these developments: “Clearance of the Attorney General, too, has been granted for the draft bill. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the proposal to publish the draft bill in the government’s gazette notification and subsequently to forward it to the Parliament for its approval.”

The industry is overseen by the Gambling Regulatory Authority, which collects the due taxes and monitors whether licensed operators follow whether licensed operators are complying with gambling laws.