Is online gambling legal in Bangladesh?

Legal overview

Gambling is illegal in Bangladesh, and there is no licensing system for any form of online gambling. The Gambling Prevention Act, 2026, passed by Parliament on 30 June 2026, replaced the colonial-era Public Gambling Act, 1867 and, according to press reports, took effect on 1 July 2026 after presidential assent and publication in the official gazette. Unlike the 1867 law, it deals expressly with online and remote gambling and betting.

Penalties are graded. Conventional gambling carries up to two years in prison, a fine of up to Tk 2 lakh, or both. Taking part in online or remote gambling carries up to five years and a fine of up to Tk 1 crore, and online betting and bookmaking up to seven years and Tk 5 crore. The same top tier applies to anyone who uses VPNs, proxies, mirror sites, hosting, domains or content-delivery networks to run gambling, and instigators and financiers are punished like the principal offender. Using fake SIM cards, fraudulent mobile financial service accounts or biometric fraud for gambling carries up to seven years, or ten years where organised groups or money laundering are involved, and moving proceeds through banks, mobile wallets, hundi or crypto is prosecuted under the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012. Repeat offenders face up to double the maximum penalty.

Gambling promotions, sponsorships, affiliate and referral campaigns and endorsements by influencers or celebrities are punishable by up to three years and a fine of up to Tk 50 lakh. Courts can confiscate premises, vehicles, servers and equipment, and company officers can be personally liable. Foreign gambling licences have no effect in Bangladesh, and players have no legal recourse against offshore operators.