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Sri Lanka has introduced a higher statutory take from its regulated betting and gaming sector, lifting both the levy paid by locals to enter gaming premises and the percentage charge applied to betting-and-gaming “gross collection” above a set monthly threshold.
The Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Act, No. 25 of 2025, increases the casino entrance fee that Sri Lankan citizens must pay to $100 USD and sets the gross collection levy at 18% for any year starting on or after January 1, 2026.
Before the start of the new year, the Act was certified on December 17, 2025, and published as a Gazette supplement on December 26, 2025, putting the changes on a clear statutory footing.
The legal trigger: a 2025 amendment, live in 2026
The amendment is concise but consequential. The Act explicitly inserts an 18% rate for periods commencing on or after January 1, 2026, and replaces the casino entrance levy figure for locals from $50 to $100.
Local reporting tied to the Inland Revenue Department notice says the gross collection levy applies to bookmakers and gaming operators above that monthly threshold, and that the entrance levy is collected per entrant at the premises.
While the measure runs only a few lines in the statute, Government and industry watchers had been anticipating a higher fiscal take from gaming as Colombo sought to widen reliable revenue streams while also formalising oversight in a sector that has expanded in visibility and investment.
Cabinet approval came as Sri Lanka added a flagship casino resort
The levy changes were politically signposted months ago. In September 2025, Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers approved a 2025 budget proposal to raise the betting-and-gaming levy to 18% and double the local casino entry levy to $100, according to reports citing cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa after a cabinet meeting.
That approval came shortly after Sri Lanka brought a high-profile, large-scale casino development fully online in Colombo. John Keells Holdings and Melco Resorts & Entertainment announced the grand opening of City of Dreams Sri Lanka on August 2, 2025, describing it as a more than $1.2 billion development with a casino operated by Melco.
A wider regulatory buildout is running in parallel
The tax rise is not the only structural move around Sri Lanka’s gambling ecosystem. Reports also noted that parliament approved legislation to create a Gambling Regulatory Authority, reflecting the government’s interest in building a more formal oversight regime as casino-led tourism investment grows.
That broader context has been part of the policy conversation in Colombo: increasing fiscal returns from regulated gaming, tightening oversight tools, and reducing exposure to unregulated channels, while also positioning the country to capture higher-spending tourism demand in the years ahead.
As of January 1, 2026, Sri Lanka’s gaming-related tax landscape includes a $100 entry levy and an 18% gross collection levy (applicable when monthly gross collections exceed LKR 1 million).
Those are the baseline statutory changes now in force under Act No. 25 of 2025, following a cabinet-backed proposal in 2025 and arriving in the first full year after Sri Lanka’s newest integrated casino resort opened in Colombo.
Source: Zira Daily
