The Sri Lanka government has directed telecommunications operators to shut access to 24 gambling websites, which were running without licenses.
As reported locally, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) issued the directive after the newly established Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) made the request.
The blocked domains include several international betting operators, including Bet365, Stake, Betway, 1xBet, Unibet, Betfair and Dafabet. Other affected websites include 22Bet, Melbet, 1Win, BC.Game, Megapari, Pin-Up, Mostbet, Parimatch, Betwinner, Linebet, 4rabet, Rajabets and DBBet.
The authorities said the sites in question have been removed because they were rendering gambling and betting services to the people of Sri Lanka without obtaining local authorization.
While online gambling is not banned in Sri Lanka, operators need to be approved according to the country’s licensing framework. Those who provide gambling services without a valid license risk being penalized according to Section 44 of the applicable law.
The government has warned consumers against betting on unauthorized offshore gambling websites, as well as depositing their funds with noncompliant operators.
The blocking order represents one of the most significant enforcement actions since Sri Lanka started reforming its gambling regulation system.