{"id":124237,"date":"2026-03-16T06:52:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/899760563"},"modified":"2026-03-16T06:52:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:52:13","slug":"sri-lanka-eyes-regional-gaming-hub-status-with-chinese-tech-push","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/16\/sri-lanka-eyes-regional-gaming-hub-status-with-chinese-tech-push\/","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka eyes regional gaming hub status with Chinese tech push"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ECONOMYNEXT \u2013 Sri Lanka is exploring positioning its capital city as the gaming hub using innovative technology mainly from Chinese firms, the Deputy Tourism Minister said.<\/p>\n

Sri Lanka\u2019s gaming and integrated resort sector has rapidly transformed from a fragmented collection of small-scale clubs into a multibillion-dollar engine for high-end tourism.<\/p>\n

The island nation inaugurated a two-day Global Game Connect (GGC) 2026 summit, which commenced Monday at Cinnamon Life\u2019s City of Dreams, with new technology focusing online game or \u2018i-gaming\u2019 as the centerpiece for this push.<\/p>\n

The two-day event has drawn global software providers, game operators, and API integration specialists, particularly from the Chinese tech sector, looking to scale across Asia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are positioning Colombo and Sri Lanka as a hub for the next wave of technological innovation and the gaming industry in this region,\u201d Ruwan Ranasinghe, Deputy Minister of Tourism said addressing the opening session.<\/p>\n

He said the government is focused on creating a regulatory and technological environment conducive to high-tech innovation.<\/p>\n

The summit, endorsed by the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, is part of a broader strategy to marry the country\u2019s recovering tourism sector with high-growth digital industries.<\/p>\n

Ranasinghe noted that Sri Lanka\u2019s geographical proximity to India makes it a natural gateway for the massive South Asian gaming market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have significant potential for industries like this, particularly for the growing markets next to us, like India. We can accommodate Sri Lanka as a platform for growing enterprises,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The GGC 2026 participants are mostly game operators, platform providers, payment providers, and top-level executives in the gaming industry.<\/p>\n

Beyond technology, the government views the summit as vital for the tourism economy, attracting high-spending business travelers and showcasing the island as a dual destination for leisure and capital investment, the deputy minister said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvents like this benefit our tourism industry. We believe there is great potential to move forward by bringing technologies and investments down to Colombo,\u201d Ranasinghe said.<\/p>\n

A major catalyst for this shift was the 2025 opening of the $1.2 billion City of Dreams project in Colombo, which positioned the island as a primary gaming hub for the affluent South Asian market, particularly travellers from India.<\/p>\n

This industry growth is evidenced by a $250 million annual revenue projection and a significant tax contribution, recently increased to 18% to bolster national reserves.<\/p>\n

By integrating world-class gaming with the nation\u2019s broader tourism goal of reaching 3 million arrivals in 2026, the sector has successfully extended the average length of stay and reduced the impact of traditional monsoon-driven seasonality.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the convergence of gaming with the new Digital Nomad Visa has fostered a vibrant ecosystem of long-term international visitors, ensuring that the industry serves as a modern force multiplier for Sri Lanka\u2019s economic recovery. (Colombo\/March 16\/2026)<\/p>\n

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… specialists, particularly from the Chinese tech<\/span> sector, looking to scale … technological environment conducive to high-tech<\/span> innovation. The summit, endorsed by the … executives in the gaming industry. Beyond technology<\/span>, the government views the summit as …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-124237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124237","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124237"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124237\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}