Is Online Gambling Legal in Bangladesh? The 2026 Law Explained

The short answer

Online gambling is illegal in Bangladesh. The Gambling Prevention Act 2026 makes it an offence to play at online casinos or betting sites, to run them, and to promote them. It applies to offshore websites and apps used from inside Bangladesh. Using a VPN does not make playing legal, and the Act separately punishes using VPNs, proxies or mirror sites to run or hide gambling.

What the Gambling Prevention Act 2026 says

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed tabled the bill on 23 June 2026. Parliament passed it on 30 June 2026 and it came into force on 1 July 2026 as Act No. 98 of 2026, as The Business Standard and The Daily Star reported. The new Act repeals the Public Gambling Act 1867.

The main changes compared with the old rules:

• Online gambling is named directly. The 1867 Act was written for physical gaming houses and did not mention the internet. The new law covers gambling websites and apps, and the use of VPNs, proxies and mirror sites to run or conceal gambling.
• Much higher penalties. Online gambling can lead to up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of up to Tk 1 crore. Online betting carries up to 7 years and/or Tk 5 crore; reports differ on whether that tier covers people placing bets (The Daily Star) or those operating betting (The Business Standard). Running a platform can lead to up to 7 years and Tk 5 crore.
• Promotion is an offence. Advertising, sponsorship, affiliate marketing and referral campaigns carry up to 3 years and/or Tk 50 lakh. Reports say this also covers influencers and athletes.
• Laundering through MFS, SIM cards or crypto by organised groups carries up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to Tk 5 crore.
• Match-fixing and spot-fixing are named offences. Match-fixing carries up to 7 years and Tk 1 crore, spot-fixing up to 5 years and Tk 50 lakh. The BCB is separately pursuing a BPL corruption probe.

The Constitution already asked the state to act: Article 18(2) says "The State shall adopt effective measures to prevent prostitution and gambling" (Bangladesh Laws).

What came before 2026

• Public Gambling Act 1867. The colonial-era law punished running or visiting a "common gaming house", with very small fines. It did not apply in metropolitan areas, which had their own police ordinances: the Dhaka Metropolitan Police Ordinance 1976 fined public gambling just Tk 100 (Dhaka Tribune).
• Cyber Security Ordinance 2025. Gazetted on 21 May 2025 (Prothom Alo), its section 20 covered creating, operating or promoting online gambling platforms, with up to 2 years in prison and/or a fine of up to Tk 1 crore (The Daily Star). By 2026 the provision was section 20 of the Cyber Security Act 2026. Parliament dropped it on 30 June 2026, when the new gambling law took over.

How the law is enforced

Enforcement started before the Act and has stepped up since:

• Police raids and arrests. The CID launched a nationwide drive against online gambling on 27 May 2025 and flagged more than 1,000 MFS agents (The Daily Star). Between 1 January and 15 September 2026 the CID reported 115 arrests; by early October it had filed 12 online gambling cases in 2026, charge-sheeted 88 people and asked BTRC to block 763 gambling sites and apps (TBS). Cases are also being filed under the new Act, such as one by the CID in Khulna in early September 2026 (TBS).
• Website blocking. BTRC blocks gambling domains and apps on request. Reopening a blocked platform through new domains or mirror sites is itself an offence under the Act (The Daily Star).
• Mobile financial services. In late 2025 Bangladesh Bank ordered all 13 MFS providers to set up task forces and monitoring to stop gambling payments (TBS, reported 4 November 2025). On 24 June 2026 the Finance Minister told Parliament that the BFIU had frozen or suspended about 55,000 MFS accounts that year over online gambling and digital hundi (TBS). About 10,000 more were frozen in July, and freezing of about 14,000 further accounts was under way in August (Yogonet). The authorities also said they were taking steps to stop people with frozen accounts from opening new ones with the same national ID.

Do offshore licences make a casino legal?

No. A licence from Curaçao, Anjouan, Malta or Kahnawake lets an operator serve players in countries where gambling is permitted. It does not override Bangladeshi law and gives a player in Bangladesh no legal protection.

Licences also differ in how much they protect players:

• Curaçao moved to a new licensing law on 24 December 2024. The Curaçao Gaming Authority (CGA) now licenses operators directly instead of through master licence holders (CGA). In the licensing portal breach, a hacker who had gained access to the CGA's portal in 2025 published more than 40,000 documents in September 2026. The portal was offline by early October, and on 7 October 2026 the CGA said it will not return. Existing licences remain valid, but online seal checks are affected until a replacement is in place (Next.io, Gambling.com).
• Anjouan licences are issued by an autonomous island of the Comoros. The Comoros central bank called the Anjouan offshore bodies "fictitious" in December 2025, and in October 2026 the Comoros government said the licensing network operates without authorisation and asked the UK for help (Casino.org, CasinoBeats).

Our rating method scores licences on whether we could verify them, and lists operators with no licence at all on casinos to avoid.

Is anything legal?

Government-approved lotteries are the only lawful form of gambling we are aware of. There is no licensed online casino, sportsbook or betting exchange in Bangladesh.

Risks for players

• Criminal liability under the 2026 Act, even when the site is based abroad.
• Frozen bKash, Nagad or bank accounts. The authorities have also said they are working on stopping holders of frozen accounts from opening new ones.
• No consumer protection. If an offshore site refuses a withdrawal, a Bangladeshi player has no regulator or court to turn to.
• Fraud. Clone sites and fake "mirrors" copy real brands to steal deposits and personal data. Our XXXBet review shows a brand that now survives only as clone pages and parked or unused domains.

If gambling is already causing problems for you or someone close to you, see our responsible gambling page for free, confidential help.

FAQ

Sources

• The Business Standard — Bangladesh enacts new anti-online gambling law (2 July 2026)
• The Daily Star — Parliament passes anti-gambling law (30 June 2026)
• The Daily Star — Inside Bangladesh's new gambling bill (24 June 2026)
• UNB — Parliament passes bill to tackle online gambling, betting (30 June 2026)
• The Business Standard — Bill to tackle online gambling tabled (23 June 2026)
• The Business Standard — BFIU freezes 55,000 MFS accounts (24 June 2026)
• Yogonet — Bangladesh moves to freeze 14,000 more mobile accounts (4 August 2026)
• The Business Standard — Online gambling money laundered abroad (4 October 2026)
• Next.io — Curaçao shuts down online gaming portal (12 October 2026)

This page summarises public reporting and is not legal advice.