Bangladesh Proposes Strict Anti-Gambling Law with AI Surveillance and Heavy Fines

Bangladesh will replace its gambling laws from colonial times with an entirely new framework that is suitable for the digital age. The Gambling Prevention Bill of 2026 will seek to replace the Public Gambling Act of 1867 by introducing an entire scheme that will focus on gambling through traditional operations as well as online platforms.

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Broad Scope Covering Digital Gambling

The draft bill defines gambling broadly, covering both participation and organisation. It includes all forms of gambling that involve money or any other valuable objects, including various games like bingo, roulette, poker, or card games. This law specifically identifies online gambling as an entirely different kind and includes online gambling software, sports betting, live betting, exchange betting, casino betting, virtual betting, fantasy betting, and esports betting.

Also included in this draft is a list of various technologies commonly used within the online gambling community, like Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT, as well as VPN services, proxies, mirror sites, ghost SIM cards, mobile banking accounts, and digital wallets.

Network-Based Enforcement

As opposed to older laws where the main focus was the gaming house or the individual gamblers themselves, the new law focuses on the network of players within the gambling scheme. The legislation names many people who may be scrutinized legally for their involvement in gambling activities.

Marketing and promotional activities are specifically included. The draft mentions sponsorship arrangements, affiliate marketing programmes, referral campaigns, and promotional efforts carried out through social media. Influencers and individuals involved in advertising or encouraging participation in gambling activities could fall within the scope of enforcement.

Technology Sector Responsibilities

The draft legislation reaches into the technology sector. Authorities will be empowered to take action against individuals who use VPNs, proxy servers, mirror sites, hosting services, domain services, cloud infrastructure, or other technical infrastructure to operate, facilitate, or conceal gambling activities. The section also targets efforts to bypass government restrictions by reopening blocked gambling platforms through alternative domains or mirror websites.

Financial Surveillance and Blacklists

The bill proposes powers to freeze accounts and take action against funds believed to be connected to gambling activities. Courts will be empowered to order the closure of bank accounts, mobile financial service accounts, payment gateways, digital wallets, cryptocurrency wallets, and other related financial accounts if found to have facilitated gambling transactions.

A national digital blacklist database is proposed under Chapter 4, Section 39, aimed at preventing gambling, online betting, and related financial crimes, including money laundering. The database will compile extensive personal and technical identifiers such as NID details, SIM cards, mobile financial service accounts, bank accounts, digital wallets, devices, domains, IP addresses, websites, and mobile applications linked to suspected offenses.

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AI Monitoring and Identity Verification

Under Chapter 4, Section 40, the draft introduces an NID-linked verification system connecting SIM registrations with financial accounts, allowing authorities to cross-check user identities across telecom and financial platforms. The framework will permit biometric verification tools, including facial recognition and other risk-based systems.

Under Chapter 4, Section 43, the government shall be empowered to use advanced technological tools to monitor and combat gambling activities. Such technologies include artificial intelligence-driven monitoring technology, DPI, risk scores, transaction monitoring systems, and data analytics tools. Regulators can apply artificial intelligence-driven analysis in order to spot suspicious transactions, websites, applications, devices, wallets, and accounts associated with gambling.

Tiered Penalty System

The new bill proposes far more stringent measures compared to the one passed in the 19th century. People found to be indulging themselves either directly or indirectly in gambling may be penalized by spending two years behind bars, being fined up to BDT 200,000, or both. For remote gambling, penalties include spending five years in jail or a fine of BDT one crore, or both. Participation in online betting carries the harshest punishment, with up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to BDT five crore, or both.

Managing, renting out, or allowing premises to be used for gambling could result in five years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to BDT 400,000. Bookmakers may face up to seven years’ imprisonment and fines of up to BDT 5 crore. The penalties for match fixing will be seven years of jail time and a fine of BDT 1 crore. Penalties for spot fixing may include five years of imprisonment and fines up to BDT 50 lakh.

Adverts, sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and referral campaigns for gambling may lead to up to three years of imprisonment and a fine of BDT 50 lakh. Operating gambling services through VPNs, proxy servers, hosting platforms, or cloud infrastructure could carry up to seven years in prison and a BDT 5 crore fine. Using counterfeit SIM cards, fraudulently created financial accounts, or biometric cheating can earn an individual a prison term of up to seven years, which increases to ten years for organized offenses.

Multi-Agency Enforcement Strategy

The Ministry of Home Affairs will be the leading agency in enforcement, coordination, supervision, and policy oversight. The ICT and Posts and Telecommunications Ministry will deal with technical control and regulation of online platforms. The telecom regulatory authority (BTRC) will shut down any illegal website, app, domain, IP addresses, and communication channels.

Financial monitoring will be handled by the Bangladesh Bank and the Financial Intelligence Unit. Other agencies, including the Election Commission, intelligence bodies, CID, and the National Cyber Security Agency, will support identity verification, surveillance, investigations, and cyber threat analysis.

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Source: The Daily Star