Sri Lanka’s telecommunications regulator has ordered internet providers to cut access to a further 122 unlicensed online gambling websites, expanding a crackdown that began earlier this week and bringing the total number of blocked platforms to 146.

Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Director General Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Bandula Herath said all telecommunications service providers had been instructed to restrict access to the identified sites from within Sri Lanka. He said 24 betting websites were blocked on Wednesday and another 122 on Thursday.

Hiru News quoted the Director General as saying the total number of sites banned so far now exceeds 145. Ada Derana published the full list of affected domains as an attachment to its report.

How the order was issued

The directive followed a notification from the Gambling Regulatory Authority, which sits under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, issued under the Gambling Regulatory Authority Act, No. 17 of 2025.

The authority has said that operating or promoting online gambling services in Sri Lanka without a valid licence — conduct covered by Sections 15, 16 and 18 of the Act — is an offence punishable under Section 44.

Online gambling is not itself illegal in Sri Lanka, but operators must register with the authorities and pay licence fees.

A rapidly widening net

The order is the third step in a sequence that has moved quickly. On Tuesday the TRCSL told operators to block all unlicensed online gambling websites without identifying any of them. On Wednesday the government named 24 platforms, including bet365, Stake, Betway and 1xBet. Thursday’s order is by far the largest single tranche, roughly quintupling the number of sites affected in 24 hours.

The enforcement drive follows sustained pressure in Parliament. In June, Committee on Public Finance chair MP Dr. Harsha de Silva called for a regulator for online betting and casino platforms, describing the absence of oversight as a “massive legal blind spot” costing the state billions in uncollected revenue.

Network-level blocking remains an imperfect tool: access can often be restored through mirror domains or virtual private networks, and enforcement requires the regulator to keep the blocklist current — a burden that grows with each round of additions.

Sources: Ada Derana, Daily Mirror, Hiru News.