ECONOMYEXT – A bill to set up a regulatory authority for gaming should be revised to make it more independent like the Securities and Exchange Commission as the current draft leave room for political interference, Advocata Institute, a Colombo-based think tank said.
The bill as now envisaged has “excessive and unchecked powers vested in the Minister of Finance, which compromise the independence of the regulator and jeopardize the integrity of the industry,” Advocata said in a statement.
“The independence of a regulatory body is nonnegotiable,” said Sudaraka Ariyaratne, Research Consultant at Advocata. “Without it, we risk creating a framework that lacks credibility, is vulnerable to political interference, and cannot deliver on its mandate.
“In its current form, the Bill does not create a regulator. It creates a proxy.”
Under the draft law, the Minister holds a sweeping authority to appoint the regulator’s Director General (DG) and board members, issue binding directives, and singlehandedly make regulations.
Such over centralization of power departs from international best practices and undermines the very rationale for a statutory regulator which is to provide impartial, consistent, and transparent oversight.
Advocata proposes that appointments to the Board should be subject to approval by the Constitutional Council, the DGl should be selected through a competitive process like in the private sector, and rulemaking power should lie with the Authority itself mirroring models like Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC Act No. 19 of 2021).
There was no representation from the tourism sector at least in the form of fails to include ex officio representation from the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), despite the strong link between gaming and tourism.
There does not seem to enough powers to regulate online gaming, the statement said. State lottery companies were also exempt.
While the bill to set up a regulatory is timely and necessary it must be re-worked to establish a truly independent, empowered and credible institution, Advocata said. (Colombo/June30/2025)
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