Sri Lanka blocks 24 unlicensed iGaming sites including 1xBet and Stake

December 2025’s law establishing Sri Lanka’s Gambling Regulatory Authority created the country’s first unified licensing system, replacing what had been a patchwork of rules with a single regime. Operators now need two separate approvals: a general gambling license, and a distinct permit specifically for running online games, with advertising an unlicensed platform counted as its own violation, separate from the act of running the site regardless of who built the site itself.

The Authority sits under the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, and it was the body that referred this list of platforms to regulators for the block, acting on licensing powers the December law put in its hands directly. It’s the same law that created the Authority’s mandate to compile and refer blocklists in the first place, so this action falls squarely within what the legislation was written to do from day one.

The blocked roster spans nearly every major international brand active in South Asian markets, mixing sportsbook-first names like bet365, Betfair, and Unibet with crypto-leaning casino platforms such as Stake and BC.Game: 1xBet, Betway, 22Bet, Melbet, Unibet, Betfair, Dafabet, bet365, 1win, SpinBetter, 10Cric, BC.Game, Megapari, Pin-Up, Stake, Mostbet, Parimatch, BetWinner, Linebet, 4raBet, RajaBets, DBBet, ColdBet, and WinWin, twenty-four names in total.

Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Digital Economy worked with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) to order local internet providers to cut access immediately at the ISP level. The stated grounds were the same across all 24 platforms: none held the local license the new law now requires, and the block applies regardless of which specific vertical, sportsbook or casino, each one operates under.