The government has enacted the Gambling Prevention Act, 2026, replacing the colonial-era Public Gambling Act, 1867, to tackle the growing threat of online gambling, sports betting and digital gambling networks.
The new law, which came into effect on July 1 following publication in the official gazette after receiving the President's assent, introduces legal definitions for online gambling, sports betting, virtual casinos, VPN-enabled gambling, cryptocurrency transactions, match-fixing and other digital gambling-related offences.
Under the law, offences involving organised gambling or money laundering through fake SIMs, fraudulent mobile financial service (MFS) accounts or cryptocurrency are punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of up to Tk five crore.
Operating online gambling or betting platforms carries penalties of up to seven years in prison and a Tk 5 crore fine, while online gambling offences are punishable by up to five years' imprisonment or a Tk one crore fine.
The law provides for up to two years' imprisonment, a fine of up to Tk 200,000, or both for conventional gambling offences.
Running online betting operations, acting as a bookmaker, using VPNs or mirror sites to facilitate gambling, or operating gambling networks through digital infrastructure carries a maximum penalty of seven years' imprisonment and a fine of up to Tk five crore.
Match-fixing is punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment and a Tk one crore fine, while spot-fixing carries a maximum sentence of five years and a Tk 50 lakh fine.
The court may also disqualify convicted persons temporarily or permanently from participating in the relevant sport or competition.
Media outlets, digital platforms, influencers, artists, athletes, or any other individuals involved in promoting gambling through advertisements, sponsorships, affiliate marketing, or referral campaigns may face up to three years' imprisonment, a fine of Tk 50 lakh, or both.
Using fake SIMs, ghost SIMs, fake MFS accounts, or another person's national identity card or biometric information to conduct gambling is punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment and a Tk 50 lakh fine.
The law classifies the transfer, concealment, or legitimisation of gambling proceeds through banks, MFS accounts, digital wallets, hawala, hundi, or cryptocurrency as a predicate offence under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
Accordingly, offenders may also be prosecuted under that law.
The new law empowers courts to confiscate bank accounts, MFS accounts, digital wallets, crypto assets, servers, domains, SIM cards, mobile phones, computers, devices, and other assets used in or derived from gambling.
The law also criminalises gambling advertisements, sponsorships and affiliate marketing, and empowers authorities to freeze and confiscate bank accounts, digital wallets, crypto assets, servers and other properties linked to gambling operations.
All offences under the act are cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, with cyber-related cases to be tried in Cyber Tribunals.
The law authorises the government to use modern technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), deep packet inspection (DPI), transaction monitoring systems, and data analytics, to detect and prevent online gambling.
It also allows the introduction of a national digital blacklist database, NID-SIM-MFS linking system, biometric verification, and facial recognition-based verification.
Responsibilities for implementing the law have been assigned to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), Bangladesh Bank, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the Election Commission, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the National Cyber Security Agency, and other relevant ministries and agencies.
The law also provides for the formation of an inter-agency task force, international cooperation, research, publication of annual reports, and public awareness campaigns.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
