Politicians in Bangladesh have vowed to launch a nationwide crackdown on gambling and online betting, emphasising that coordinated action is looming for the sector.
Action will begin following the closure of the country’s parliament on 30 April, with assertions made by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, who promised a ‘zero tolerance’ policy on gambling, alongside drug use, in response to concerns raised by Zainul Abdin Farroque, parliamentary member for the Noakhali-2 constituency.
“To save the youth from destruction, the government has adopted a zero-tolerance policy,” said Ahmed, who promised that law enforcement agencies will conduct coordinated operations to dismantle networks linked to drugs and gambling.
Most forms of gambling remain illegal in Bangladesh under the Public Gaming Act of 1867, meaning online gambling operates in a grey area with no local regulation.
Ahmed’s call to arms over curtailing online gambling comes despite Bangladesh last year passing the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025, which set out punishments of two years in prison and fines of up to $80,000 for those found to be operating or promoting online gambling.
In May 2025, Bangladesh’s Criminal Investigation Department said that it had identified over 1,000 financial service agents thought to be connected to illegal gambling transactions, whose details were handed to the Bangladesh Bank.
However, these most recent concerns from politicians demonstrate that the law has not had the desired effect in effectively targeting the black market, as enforcement action is now seemingly set to be elevated.
It also comes as the wider Bangladesh economy has slowed in terms of growth, further prompting the accelerated action of the home office in the country in a bid to halt the flow of underground money in the country.
The most recent economic reports show that growth has dipped to between 3.7 and 4.0%, substantially lower than historical averages of 6–7%.
Learning from the large neighbours
The end of April also marks the beginning of greater enforcement action for Bangladesh’s neighbour, India.
Last week, lawmakers confirmed that they will begin to enforce from 1 May a ban on online real money gaming set out by the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Rules (PROGA 2025).
The Online Gaming Authority of India (OGAI) has been tasked with overseeing compliance with the framework, which was passed by India’s parliament in August 2025.
The OGAI will classify games under the new laws and hold the power to investigate illegal gambling activities.
