Sri Lanka – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
Sri Lanka is an island nation some 30 miles off the Southern coast of India. Due to its shape and pristine natural beauty, it is often cited as the pearl of the Indian ocean. The relatively small size of the island may deceive many into believing it is sparsely populated, but some 21 million people call it home. Unfortunately, the country isn’t so economically developed and internet access remains limited for many residents. As such, neither operators nor lawmakers have been particularly interested in advancing the gambling industry in Sri Lanka. Yet those with internet access are still able to play online on a myriad of websites, despite there being no laws authorizing the activity.
Top casinos in Sri Lanka – Online Casinos & Gambling Regulations
Showing
5
of 727 results
Find the Best Sri Lankan Casino Online
Due to the economic situation of Sri Lanka, there hasn’t been much thought into creating a regulated online gambling market. As such, people who decide to play from the country will be doing so without any regulatory safety nets or having the possibility of taking legal recourse should things go awry. Due to the lack of oversight, unregulated markets tend to attract illegitimate operations and it is important to be able to distinguish them or at least favor caution whenever signing up with a new site. Asking yourself some key questions can be a great start to avoiding the typical pitfalls of playing in an unregulated market.
- Is the casino licensed?
- What this the reputation of the site’s licensing body?
- What do reviews say about the site?
- Are your preferred payment methods supported?
- Will you be able to take advantage of any kind of loyalty program?
You can find a lot of answers to your questions by simply checking out the casino reviews listed here at GoodLuckMate. Our reviews are written to provide you with as much concise information regarding the legitimacy and value of a site so that you have it all clearly laid out before even having to step foot into the casino.
Gambling Regulation
The economic hardships stemming from the country’s decades-long civil war means that Sri Lanka is still finding its place since peace arrived in 2009. Gambling has therefore sat in the backseat, remaining a gray area with not much legislation surrounding it. 2010 saw the Casino Business Act that established a legal foundation from which the industry could be built up. Plans valued at an estimated $1.6 billion were underway with the construction of three states of the art hotel and casino complexes. This could have been a huge boon for the country’s economy, however, the deal was shit down and a newly elected president saw any progress towards a fully regulated market shattered in 2015. The law meant the cancelation of the previous 2010, as well as an increase in levies towards casino entry and betting shops.
The current restrictive laws have not affected the online scene though, as there is still no legislation defining online gambling. The government makes no effort to restrict overseas operations from being accessible by residents either. The main issue that players face is that only around 25% of the country is connected to the internet.
Localized Online Casinos
A country with a large population size is usually a very attractive proposition for an online casino. The lack of regulation and the government’s backtracking on previous reforms, as well as the limited internet accessibility, unfortunately, makes Sir Lanka a hard sell though. You will be hard-pressed to find any online casino providing Sinhala or Tamil language options and you will therefore most likely be asked to access the site in English instead. Big Sri Lankan events might also be overlooked by sites, simply because they are not engaged in the Sri Lankan market. This also goes for welcome offers and other promotion material, which Sri Lankan players will not be eligible for more often than not, as this is usually a good way of gaining the attention of the government.
Gambling with Sri Lankan Rupees
Playing with Sri Lankan rupees is also something that you should not have great expectations for. The reasons general localization options aren’t being represented for Sri Lankan players are the exact same as why online casinos are not incentivized to providing Sro Lankan rupee payment options. You will most likely be asked to instead set up your account using US dollars or euros. The good news is that there should still be a good amount of choice when it comes to payment options. Payment cards and bank transfer options are widely available across operators, but e-wallets and cryptocurrencies have proven themselves particularly popular with players who wish to avoid currency conversion or international transaction fees while being able to make quick and easy payments online.
Casinos in Sri Lanka
The current gambling situation in Sri Lanka is actually quite a shame. The influx of revenues that a country can enjoy from regulating gambling is clearly documented across many other small countries with little to no options for economic growth. The 2010 deal could have brought big changes to the country by providing a massive boost from foreign investments that would have seen its own rewards while putting Sri Lanka on the map for other investors. Sadly, gambling remains a gray-zone in the country, which is very off-putting for an organization wishing to set up shop, as they could just as easily be kicked out or levied the very next day. The responsibility, therefore, lies on the countries lawmakers to come up with a solution that can create robust legislation attractive to investors. A coinciding expansion of internet infrastructure will also be required to fully take advantage of the benefits a regulated gambling market could bring.
Dispute resolution – can I get help from a third party?
A gambling license is intended to protect players, and one of its main functions is to provide a mechanism for resolving disputes when they come up. If you have a dispute with a casino, and the casino is being unreasonable, the gambling authority will help you. For many licenses, this means you can contact the gambling authority to get help processing your withdrawals, claiming money the casino has debited from your account, or resolving other disputes that might arise. The likelihood that the gambling authority will help you in ways that are effective, however, depends on the procedures they have in place for this. This is yet another reason why choosing to play at a casino that has a safe license is important.
Getting help directly from the gambling authority is not always necessary, or even an option. A lot of regulators have now enforced third-party dispute resolution. This means casinos must have an agreement with an arbitrator who will look into disputes on the behalf of players from a particular casino. This ensures your dispute will be reviewed by an objective third party. All trusted online casinos have information about arbitration on their websites if they use this option, or they’ll have the contact information for the gambling authority you should consult. However, you should always try to resolve your issues with the casino first, and a lot of casinos have separate email addresses specifically for handling complaints.
Secure payments – can I trust a casino with my money?
If you’re worried about the security of the transactions you’re making at a casino, you should look for a logo with the acronym PCI DSS. This stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, and this is something the payment industry has created. If you see this logo, it means the casino can be trusted for safe money transactions since they follow all of the rules set by the payment industry. Information about this can also be found in an FAQ section on the casino’s website.
Another thing to look out for in terms of payments is where your money is kept while you play. Some gambling authorities, all of the best ones actually, regulate what the casino can do with your money while they are holding it. Your money shouldn’t go into a general bank account held by the casino; it should go into an account that is strictly for holding player funds. This means that as long as you have the money in your player account, it can’t be spent by the casino. Your deposit will be kept separate from the operating funds of the casino until your player account is empty, which will happen if you make a funds withdrawal or if you lose the money while playing.Fair gaming – do the games give me a fair chance to win?
The best known system tool for ensuring that a casino offers fair games is eCogra; however, there are other providers that also offer these kinds of systems. You want to make sure that the casino is using a certified third-party control system to ensure that the games of chance you’re playing are actually based on chance and not on other types of metrics. Rigged games are ones that have been set up to pay out less than they claim to or ones that give some players a greater chance of winning than others.
The eCogra logo can often be found in the footer of the casino’s website, but not all casinos choose to display it. If you can’t see this logo, go to the FAQs and see if you can find information about random number generators. If there are no FAQs on the site, check out their terms and conditions or contact the casino’s support and ask how they ensure their games are safe.
Encrypted website – how is my information kept safe?
An SSL-encrypted website should be mandatory for any casino, and very few casinos operate without this or similar safe encryption features. Always keep in mind that you are giving the casino quite a bit of sensitive information, including your payment details. When you’re uploading and sending documents to verify your identity, you want to make sure that no unauthorized third-party has access to them. Site security, therefore, doesn’t only include the website itself but also what the casino does on the backend. You should always look into a casino’s data security. You’ll normally find information about this in their terms and conditions and their privacy policy. If in doubt, contact their support and ask for more detailed information.
Most trustworthy casinos have information about site security in the website footer, so simply scroll down and look for the logo of a well-known security system.
Gambling license – can I play at a casino from my country?
The gambling license a casino operates under will have a big impact on your security. Not all licenses are equally safe for players for the simple reason that they are issued by different gambling authorities that work in different ways and have different rules. The rules and regulations may be quite similar, but the way they are enforced is a different story entirely. For example, if a casino doesn’t comply with the regulations, some gambling authorities may just issue a fine while others may revoke the casino’s license outright. How often gambling authorities show up for an unscheduled inspection or control will also vary.
The biggest differences between a safe, high quality gambling license and one that isn’t as good will usually show up in the areas of fair gaming, dispute resolution and the rules and systems for identifying and handling problem gamblers (responsible gambling). If your country of residence has its own gambling authority, playing at casinos that are licensed by them will be the safest option for you. Other international licenses that can be trusted are issued by the Malta Gambling Authority and the Gibraltar Regulatory Authority. Curacao eGaming is getting better at protecting players whereas licenses from Panama and Costa Rica, for instance, are considered less safe. The worst option is obviously a casino with no license whatsoever.
Our casino experts have tried and tested all aspects of each and every casino, so you can feel confident when signing up.
