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Recently, BTRC (Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission) has blocked 331 online casino sites in the name of preventing gambling and money laundering. There were a few sites blocked from long ago including crypto casino stake.com though we could access the mirror version of stake through stake.games
Hate to see this to be honest when we have politicians who are almost openly laundering money.

Source- https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/crime/p10pt1dnef

The politicians are the real money launderers who does things to their self gain and benefits.
Block and banning casinos is not the best options and it should be among things to generate revenue to the country, maybe could be the gambling site is not regulated by your country and possibly not paying task maybe. Instead of doing that, they would have came in compliance where those gambling sites could have started paying task to further developed the country through those revenues.
Suggestion: Don't you think using a VPN will help you have access to the site?
Unlike our country when the government ban us from having access to twitter there where means of gaining access which many were using vpn.

what is sad and shameful about this is that people are 18 and they were supposed to be of legal age to decide what to do with their lives, but the government is banning gambling because it thinks people can lose all their money and can use gambling sites for money laundering as if the government has no methods of controlling money laundering, and these corrupt politicians steal a lot of money and open accounts in foreign banks and even play in foreign casinos but they are the same people who are cynical and forbid people to gamble because they are going to launder money. the people need to wake up and stop choosing shitty, corrupt and politicians with no ideas on how to develop a country, websites and physical casinos could create jobs and taxes for the government and would attract people from other countries to visit the casino, and something that would also promote tourism

I would not be surprised if they'd be expecting bribes here and there for the reopen.
I've seen similar stuff in my country too for far too many years, unfortunately (for example that's why we have probably the worse roads in all EU).

That's a huge number and if they are that serious many more will be added I don't know behind the harsh decision because I can't read the article but if it is because of religion I can understand that but if it is because of what they call money laundering when based on your opinion it's the politicians who are doing money laundering in that country, we can call these politicians as hypocrites and if there is an election there and there are groups of responsible gamblers they should campaign not to vote these people and support those with a liberal outlook on gambling

Money laundering can not stop as long there are businesses and people, money are laundered through the legit businesses and easily done through reputation of someone. But any gambling site seen to not follow the regulatory laws should be banned. But I am always surprised how the governments knows the gambling sites that launder mone when the good people known in the public are having their own sides that they can not expose to public which is also criminality.

It is quite alarming for such a huge number of closures/bans in a country where poverty is known to be predominant. However, the reasons for the ban as regards laundering is unfounded. Even if, launderers will still find a way to jump the hoop. Politicians and other criminal elements supposedly responsible for such a turning point decision should have been tasked heavily by an instituted regulatory body, so as to discourage laundering over a certain limit.
 Also, most of these sites would tackle the issue with other credentials and perhaps a fat envelope to lift the ban on them. It will boil down to those who are really illegal without intentions of applying for legality in the trade.

Bangladesh is not the only country that has big problems with corruption and money laundering. other developing countries in Asia are also having problems with their politicians. no wonder the government blocks online gambling sites, especially those that do not pay taxes to the government.

but money laundering is not the only reason the government blocks gambling sites. Casinos are just one door to money laundering that the government might tackle. but will politicians lose their minds to find another way?

hopefully, it doesn't restrict Casino users from Bangladesh. because we know, some casinos make regulations regarding the use of VPNs.

Definitely, politicians will always have their own means they will always get involved in money laundering, but not only politicians are involved in money laundering though, few other people are also involved.

Gambling is not ban in Bangladesh, which means gambling sites are not also ban, Bangladeshi can still gamble, only some gambling sites that are said to be involved in money laundering and other online criminal activities are banned, but we do not know how that is true.

In any case the government will show their best behavior. They will carry out the laws they made even though some of them are actually members who take advantage of the casino. You should not be surprised, as long as there are alternative ways to access and you do not lose your assets. I think not only Bngladesh, my country even blocked access Binance.com, I am currently accessing also using alternative links.

When government take this kind of action to ban casinos they are punishing the public more than the politicians that trying to cheat through laundering of money and now is important question. Who is politician and who is government, this people are the same. The politicians go into power and become government but violate the system, take the people property yet announce a ban. I understand that in Bangladesh too things like that happen and who are the offenders, the same politicians.

Somehow its now a practice for countries to block sites to protect their interest. Just doing what is needed for the money not to get out from the country.

But I doubt politicians will do it on online casinos since casinks ask for KYC. That wouldn't make casinos to be good for laundering. Banks can do it for them if they really want to.

This is the umpteenth time I have seen news about the blocking of online sites in Bangladesh, under Sheikh Hasina's rule, I see some parties say that Sheikh's unprofessional actions are only based as a mechanism to increase authoritarianism or differences of opinion with other parties.

Some time ago he had contacted the party (BTRC), to block several news websites and also facebook was opened and closed, now there is another blocking of online gambling sites in Bangladesh, I believe this is one of the acts and threats under the rule of the prime minister of Bangladesh, this action I think is a practice of internet atrocities committed by Sheikh Hasina.

In my opinion, even though BTRC has blocked several online gambling sites in Bangladesh, I think technically the practice and online gambling addicts are still there as usual and cannot be eliminated, because online gambling sites in Bangladesh can still be accessed and used using a VPN, this is a challenge for BTRC.

How can online gambling lead to money laundering?

And if the government thinks that money laundering happens due to crypto, then they should ban every site related to crypto. People can do money laundering through crypto exchanges as well. And how about transferring money from one decentralised wallet to another wallet location in another country?

I think govt. use the word "money laundering" as an excuse and real purpose is to discourage the use of crypto currencies. Perhaps Bangladesh government want to prohibit gambling too but there should be a valid reason for it and not just a lame excuse of money laundering.

our country has also blocked hundreds of gambling sites and spent huge state funds to block them but is it effective? the answer is no. Gambling sites are not the only place for corruptors to launder money, there are many ways they can do that

I see that the blocking of gambling sites carried out by a country so far is only political and seems to be looking for profit

I might be forced to agree that money laundering can be carried out more easily through online casinos but nevertheless it is not the only channel to go about this activities. Government also launder funds through charity organisations, NGOs and religious bodies. Gambling just have to suffer it because it is always accessed more by the average persons.

This news very impactful for online casino gambling industry, I'm sure it's not just politicians launder their money in the online gambling market, also possible that other criminals. The real gambler was harmed, they can't have fun in online casinos anymore, at there still a land casino in Bangladesh? as far as I know they are very religious. Corruptors and other criminals can find a way to launder money at other place, what should be improved is the punishment for those who are corrupt.

I looked at your link through google translate - pretty scarce information. I would be interested to know a more detailed justification of the officials of their actions. Money laundering occurs not only in casinos (I would even say that the main methods of money laundering are far from casinos), but this is not a reason to close entire business sectors if someone launders money there?

Bangladesh has a huge number of gamblers so it will surely affect gambling businesses, especially those that are mostly used in their country. I don't think banning gambling alone can stop money laundering because criminals and launderers will always find ways to pursue their desires.
Gamblers will still find other ways to gamble online despite their banning and we can't blame them if they will break the law. The government would ban anything that they couldn't regulate and we are aware of that.

Ahaa, not a surprising fact - of course. Politicians are too bad to be expected not to do anything illegal and I think the majority of them are not honest and transparent people about their assets and wealth. Money laundering cases can happen in any country, but when they do it in crypto regardless of casinos or exchanges, of course the image of crypto in the eyes of the government continues to deteriorate.

Governments know crypto can be used for cases like this ^{[money laundering],} so it's only natural that they talk about its potential abuse by certain individuals. I don't blame the government why they block gambling sites but maybe this is a precaution they should take especially if the government has found a lot of abuse.

If they blocked 331 casino's, I wonder how many casinos are left in the country, plus with that kind of large number of casinos, it suggests how much of the population is immersed in gambling and how this their recent turn of events can affect the social life of people living in Bangladesh. It may not be a permanent block, maybe just a temporary one to observe if the situation involving money laundering that prompted them to block these casino improves and they have less money laundering cases.

In my country, too, because of the pressure of the authorities almost everyone has to use a VPN and it is quite normal practice to bypass blocking. But you have to keep in mind that many casinos are against their users to use all sorts of ways to bypass blocking and can ban a user's account if they determine such activity. So it is necessary to read very carefully the TOS gambling site where you are going to play.

Bangladesh is the very small economy based country,So every small anti economy activities should be take care.Money laundering was the essential one.Because it will prevent the people from economic crash.Why you are started to speak about the stake and spoiling the name of the stake website.You should not use your personal hate towards the stake.It’s seems like so.You are targeting the particular website.Many website was asking permission to the government to retain in the market ,some was successful and some are not.Not only in your country,many gambling website was getting same issue all over the world.Since Bangladesh is based on the Muslim religion,it will be against the gambling for sure.Because gambling was totally against the Muslim religion.

As far as I know gambling is not legal in Bangladesh. As it is illegal in the country these casino site would be closed. However, Bangladesh is a developing country, if there were cryptocasinos legalized, then the casino industry could have caught a potential market. Because this country is prone to political instability including money laundering. Moreover, Bangladeshi people have good relation and prospects as gamblers with Singapore based casino. After all in this context most gamblers may try to find alternatives.

Or politicians committing crimes like bribery and yet they are still in the office making money through corruptions and other ways. And I was surprised to see those numbers though, for me it's seems very big and the country is hell bent on stopping gambling proliferation. But for sure there could be some of us here that will try to circumvent if they are from Bangladesh, but then again, the risk of being caught or the casino itself freezing you money if they see that you are in a country that prohibits gambling. Of course there is VPN, but still though.

Yeah, same here, I'm not surprised though, Bangladesh is a conservative Muslim country so they are going to almost ban everything including gambling. And the government will do everything in their power to stop gambling by blocking 331 online casinos and the numbers will continue to grow as proliferation of online gambling is going up as well. And with that, they have to follow their government regulations unfortunately.

This is typical behavior of many religious driven governments around the world, simple distractions and headline filling publicity stunts to divert attention in the short term. However it doesn't really solve very much and actually encourages wider forms of censorship in this example. That being said, if stake were able to bypass this restrict once then no doubt they will replicate it in this game of cat and mouse. If it wasn't driven by religious ideology it would be more sensible to impose a tax and collect it from their citizens which could put the money to use more productively. Today is it the casinos they block, tomorrow it might be opposition political parties.

From the looks of things, they are attempting to implement a total ban, which does not appear to be something they will lift anytime soon because they are working closely with social media platforms like Facebook, Youtube, and even the Play store. Things must have been in really bad shape for them to close down gambling in a country like Bangladesh, but I'm not sure if I'm the only one who thinks this step is so very bad for a gambling ban for the people.

If money laundering is the problem, they can do what other countries are doing to reduce the rate of money laundering through gambling by limiting the amount of money that can be deposited in gambling platforms. This could help rather than closing down something that could generate revenue for their governments.

This has been their law so it’s a not a surprise anymore for a religious country which unfortunately, gamblers have to follow or else you might experience problem later on. Corrupt government will always protect their personal interest and I’m other companies are also behind that decision. Even if there’s a way to bypass that security, I still not suggest to gamble using VPN or any other way because it’s illegal in your country, and you have to deal with that.

We can't deny that since the pandemic, the existence of online gambling platfomr is increasing highly. I think that in every country that restricts gambling, their government is always trying to ban many more online gambling sites. But in fact, the other gambling sites will be coming again and again. Gambling platform that is run online is now found in many ways, moreover, in advertisements of online games, even online games for kids, we can also find online gambling platform ads.

I am sure that what the government does for online gambling sites will be related to the regulation in the country. Like in my country, gambling is prohibited and the government tries to ban online gambling. Although they may be not able to ban all at least they will always try to do it.

We do know that each country does have that own regulation being run into, to those who do govern are the ones who do make out these kind of bans and prohibitions and making that money laundering

as a common issue or reason for this one but if we do dig deep through then they are the ones who do tend up on doing those laundering but this is just for some(not all).

We know as a gambler, they can ban all the sites that they do want but as long VPN does exist, we could still able to play anytime.
Just make yourself dont get caught because you do know the consequences if you do make yourself get caught on something or do talks about violation.

majority muslim countries applied almost same policy about online gambling , they bann all access to this site. but unfortunately citizens always have solution from this banned, they still use vpn to avoid site block or another ways. gambling was a phenomenon that will bring new poverty for its users.  99% gamblers be poor man , and less of them could be rich person.

In the opening post it is clearly said of the politicians openly laundering money. As a reason to keep their names out of the laundering list, these politicians quite often doesn such drama. Years back Bangladesh is the country that is termed to the fastest growing economy. When the country is able to achieve it amidst the corrupt politicians in rule, there could've been even better growth if the corruption of politicians were stopped.

In the past people using cryptocurrencies were arrested and this time the block is not gonna make anyone suffer. Because people always look for the ways to use it, same happened even when the police arrested people on using cryptocurrencies.

The politicians itself were the real criminals. They were hypocrite parties. I meant yeah they were blocking so many sites but they are the parties who were always using the sites to laundering the money they got from corruption. As long as it can still be accessed through miror and that gives no impact for sure. The fact that politicians were always using the name of money laundering to block everything while they were also doing it to hide their funds. This is why i hate politicians. Mostly of them have two faces.

The current administration really hates online gambling to block the huge numbers of online casinos, if you're a gambler you will hate to be in this part of the world, but can they stop their own people from gambling when some online casinos are allowing VPN, they block as many online casinos as they can but there's always a way for online gamblers, and they will just encourage underground gambling, I doubt if Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission can block people from playing as the options to access these casinos are readily available online, they just have to get a good VPN which bypass government restrictions and they are good to go.

This is good news if we are talking about minimizing corruption since these sites won't now be able to offer (bribe) money to the politicians to help them allowed operating in that country without undergoing strict guidelines before being approved.

And as far as I know, Bangladesh is really a country that can't be considered a gambling-friendly country that's why it usual if we saw them blocking online casinos or related things.

A good move IMO, especially if these casinos aren't really contributing to Bangladesh economically and are helping drain people's money. If Bangladeshi gamblers still want to pursue what they do, then they'd need to just go to whatever is available and not risk getting caught which may lead to jail time. These online casinos must first comply to the gov't requirements, otherwise they are operating illegally and should be blocked as was the case there presently. Nothing too complex in this situation, just Bangladesh doing what it needs to do to for its own good.

That's true.

Maybe soon, they want these online casinos to operate on them locally and passed them through being licensed. But, if they're banned forever and they don't really want their citizens to gamble, there's no choice but to access through mirror websites and through VPNs.

But before accessing, make sure that the casino allows it and better ask a representative before making deposits.

Bangladeshi authorities seem pretty confident that criminals are actually laundering money through different gambling sites and mobile apps. What's worse is that these alleged criminals were using fiat currency to move funds and not crypto. It also looks like the Government are really busy chasing these launderers in other online platforms as well and online casinos were caught in the crossfire.

Don't be surprised and the government will always use that excuse and it's also commonly used by countries that block online gambling sites.
My guess is actually not money laundering that is their focus but their inability to collect taxes from online gambling activities the reason behind this blocking.
Which usually happens when the government does not benefit from the activities carried out by its people, the steps taken are prohibiting, blocking and so on.

they are the one who created rules and laws this is why they are also the one who break it favoring them, even in our country it is indeed happening and the most affected are those who wanted to do business with legal obligation.

Money Laundering had been in the circulation even without the crypto presence but now they are blaming Online businesses because of their own favor , so their activities will be covered by providing such laws to divert the blame in this area.

Many governments behave no differently from the mafias around the world, if they see that a business is generating profits then they want a cut, and if they cannot get it then they prefer to destroy that business instead of letting it flourish.

So I will not be surprised if during the next months some of the casinos which were blocked mysteriously can be acceded again, as their owners pay a bribe to the government of Bangladesh so their websites are once again accessible to the people of their country.

What I find strange is that more sites from other countries are not blocked as well. I'm afraid this is what the future holds. In Europe the same thing happened with fiat casinos. They went to strict regulations and required country specific licenses to operate, and those that didn't meet the criteria were blocked. But then cryptocurrency casinos came along and started to operate without being blocked, which I don't think will last much longer.

it is sad to see how some governments abusing the system , why they are putting laws against legit business and they are the one who are not following the laws? have heard in many news about politicians being a money launderer while the gambling industry is suffering from this abusing.
the government needs to find ways in detecting who is the launderer and not the business at all, yes there are abuse but there are more of legit and just wanna have fun .

This is what happens when the money they get from these casinos aren't enough. It could be that your government does not want to make it public that they're raising the money they want from these casinos. Inflation really hits us hard that the government imposing harsher laws.
I'm pretty sure not all casinos were being blocked, and they will impose a background check on each of this casino if they want their business to continue running. Thus, bribery will come in.

Its sad to see they directly went through with straight banning of casinos. Come on we are living through 21st century, people who gamble are aware of its bad effects and they see it as a habit or game. Why do we even need to ban such type of businesses when so many people can eat food, make living etc. Politicians obviously seek profits always, if those gambling companies could be "milked" they definitely would do.

Governments do not take regulation leniently, but punishment like paying certain amount of money and warning the casinos would have been better, it is true that the casinos are providing employment and many people are able to have a good daily life because of tha. But this would all the gambling sites in the country a lesson not to joke with the government and regulators. We do not know this in details if the regulators have been warning the casinos many times or sometimes in the past before the action.

I do agree with you. It's caused by mostly of gambling sites are not based in their countries and that makes them can't collect it. There was also another reason other than it but it only knows by the government. As long as people can still access it easily and there no need to feel doubt about that. The fact that if these days people may able to pass the block that already made by the government. The government was only blocking the site. It can be accessed use alternative link or easily. Bangla is not the first country wo ban hundreds of casinos. There are another countries that have been doing the same thing like bangla in the past.

Not only online casinos, any form of gambling is completely prohibited by the government of Bangladesh because basically they are Islam based country and its haram in it so they will use it as a reason to ban it.

Corrupted politicians are everywhere and its really a deep process to eradicate from the system and it may take few decades for that to happen if people are willing to make it happen.

That is sad news, even though I don't live in Bangladesh I hate to read about countries blocking casinos or making gambling illegal in general. It's okay if a country wants to do something against money laundering, but banning 331 casinos seems excessive to me. Why not work with the casinos together and make money laundering harder? Banning a casino seems like the last solution. There are other ways to prevent money laundering and still allow gambling to people who enjoy it. It's not only about all the customers who enjoyed gambling at those casinos, it's also about the employees from Bangladesh who work at those casinos. This is a really big step and is going to hurt a lot of innocent people. I am pretty sure that the majority of the gamblers on these casinos are not engaged in money laundering and rather use gambling as recreational activity. The issue I have with outright bans is that there is always a way around a ban. A government can't prevent gambling to 100%,  the same way it can't prevent illegal activities 100%. All the government does with the ban is moving the online casinos into a dark area, which takes away rights from the customers. People who enjoy gambling will try and find alternatives and if they are not allowed anymore then there is no safety for the customers. If there are any issues, than the customers can't take a lawyer and get his rights in front of a court. I hope other countries will not do the same and also ban so many online casinos.

This is not happening only in Bangladesh, in some other developing countries it seems the same.however, instead of preventing gambling and money laundering it won't solve the real problem anyway.
I'm not talking about just crypto casinos, but all online casinos. it's a classic reason, from the past until now the government has only made excuses like that.
to be honest, I agree to block illegal online casinos especially those that do not have an official license from the state. but to completely block it is not the most appropriate way, after all they can change the domain name, IP address, for them to access again. with the right regulations, is a step that is more advanced than forcing people to access things that are illegal.

The number will continue to grow because based on the news the authorities ask citizens to continue reporting all content related to gambling, but the news does not mentioned about penalties will be applied if there are residents who continue to access gambling sites, because surely the government will not stop at that blocking stage only, but there is also a penalty.

It's nothing to be surprised for Eastern region, as long as your country doesn't ban gambling you're fine to gamble and using mirror sites. For casinos which doesn't have mirror sites, you're need to use VPN to access the site. This action might flag your account, but for the best solution is reach the representative and talk about this problem. Usually they will ask you to provide KYC and let you play using VPN, so you're fine.

As far as I know gambling is still illegal in Bangladesh.  But still gamblers from Bangladesh play online gambling without government eyes, in that case they face many restrictions but VPN plays an important role as their solution. But in that case KYC verification becomes a big problem for them.  So they always give more importance to non kyc sites

That's quite a lot of online casinos being blocked. And Stake is one of them. So I assume the Bangladeshi government is now starting to impose its law, especially into cryptocurrencies where they have really no control due to their decentralized nature. I won't be surprised if more things will follow like businesses accepting bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as modes of payment. I think it was a couple of months ago, a Bangladeshi with a business started to accept cryptocurrencies as payments for his goods.

Anyways, as long as Bangladesh isn't against cryptocurrencies, it will be alright. It's just normal for governments to impose their laws, especially in cases like money laundering.

In my opinion no matter how hard the authorities of Bangladesh try, it will not be possible to completely ban gambling. The only exception may be if they legislate tough penalties, such as imprisonment for a year or more. Today there are countries where gambling is prohibited by law, but the citizens of these countries still continue to play gambling since these entertainments exist from ancient times and there are such people who cannot imagine their life without playing dice or poker.

It's not that surprising because that's what every government that prohibits gambling in their country should do. The government will shut down the casinos operating in their jurisdiction and will not allow people to gamble anymore. Maybe this is a kind of warning to other casinos. And if the other casinos don't close their business soon, their fate will be the same as the casinos that were closed by the previous government.

So we'll just have to wait and see what happens to the other casinos because I think there are still a lot of casinos operating.

It is not possible to stop anyone from online gambling not only in Bangladesh but in any country where there is an alternative route like VPN. If a country wants to completely keep gambling away from the reach of its citizens, then all types of vpn should be banned along with banning gambling. But it is not possible to do this, if it is done then the government of the country will face more losses on the other hand.  Because vpn is constantly used for many important tasks apart from gambling

Even if they persecuted gambling and effectively  enforced laws against it, it would not prevent a black market to exist for gambling and betting. There are countries with more economical resources and manpower dedicated to enforce laws against gambling or specific kinds of gambling, and yet that does not solve the problem completely.

I would dare to say it make it worse, because while legal gambling generates income to the state and it is managed by law abiding citizens, illegal gambling is kept by organized crime, does not fund the state through taxation but makes organized criminals more powerful. We are in a era when these groups do not need to take care of their illegal businesses in person but using electronic media, which we all know how difficult it is to regulate.

Using VPN is prohibited in many casinos including the famous ones. Very few casinos allow access through VPN. I haven't seen a lot of them. Besides, the average knowledge level of Bangladeshi people about internet is very poor and I doubt they would be able to gamble using VPN.
I'm personally not worried but it's very much possible for BTRC to know who are accessing gambling platforms.

Politicians do not really understand how helpful the casino's tax generated is to the economy. Which is why there are a lot of politicians that nonchalantly ban it and declare illegal. Although I get their viewpoint that it is just to prevent gambling addiction, but aren't physical casinos also addicting? It just doesn't add up.

Politicians are very much keen into what might bring them money and power. Most politicians are corrupt that is why most of their constituents do not really like them. They often do more for themselves than for the country which is really saddening. Some are even close-minded and do not know how to manage things and therefore just decides to shut it down before chaos arise out of it.

If the government will continue to be strict, eventually the people will find ways to satisfy their wants illegally. With that being said, some resort to using VPN. The usage of VPN works for some and does not on others because of strictly imposed policies. Using VPN could mean harm as well especially if the country you are in has really strict policy about banning gambling sites. If ever you will get caught, you might pay a fine and even receive a punishment depending on your number of offense perhaps. In addition, most casinos do not really allow the use of it on their website due to security concerns, so you better read the TOS first before making an action. Otherwise, your account might get suspended or permanently banned without further notice, making your funds in the account useless.

Bangladesh is 90% Muslim and they consider gambling as haram based on one article

Why is gambling banned in Bangladesh? (https://cricketprediction.com/gambling/bangladesh/#:~:text=Bangladesh%20is%20over%2090%25%20Muslim,religious%20figures%20and%20their%20followers.) this could be the main reason why they blocked online casinos, this is understandable we cannot do anything about it, we have to respect their decision their form of government is based on their religion, and they are not the only country that does this, but there will be people who will try to play online though VPN because the government can't monitor how people do things online using this method.

Yes, that is true, they are predominantly a Muslim country and so with that, it is against their religion and see it a sin if their population will become involved in gambling. But nevertheless as pointed out by the OP, some government official is corrupt and what is that?

I don't agree with using VPN although several casino's might allow it in the beginning. It's better to just not to gamble in you are in Bangladesh just saying.

The politicians will not acknowledge it, but the most money laundering happens to go through Banks. https://sanctionscanner.com/blog/the-five-biggest-money-laundering-scandals-317 or https://www.cityam.com/city-special-the-biggest-money-laundering-scandals-in-banking/  ...where you will see that HSBC was fined $1.9 billion in 2012 for having insufficient AML measures in place which enabled around $8 billion to be laundered over seven years.  :o :o :o

In any way.... Mirror sites pop up like mushrooms ...so it is almost impossible to stop people from gambling on these sites.... and new casinos also pop up frequently.  ;D

Those politicians probably want to get a piece of the pie as well. They are aware of this things. And for sure that that’s one of the reasons why crypto has been developed because of this censoring issues, and of course, the centralisation power. It’s still best to go to websites that are legal in your country.

yes it is possible for BTRC to track who visit gambling site by using VPN. but it is possible for free vpn but if someone use paid premium vpn proxy then BTRC will not able to track them it is not a big problem but must of the casino site ask for KYC if they can track something doing any illegal work or using vpn. so if any site ask kyc to any Bangladeshi person then it will be a big problem for him

Where 90% of Muslim in any country no government can speak against the Muslim religion. Several sites are closed in Muslim countries, such as gambling sites, prone movie sites etc. Even if all of these sites are closed but no government can stop the actual gamblers. In this regard they are just losing taxes form the gamblers. If possible then all the sites can get the access by using vpn from the gamblers.

At first I also thought about it, but as I understand it, Bangladesh is still at such a stage of development that economic relations between the authorities and the population are not the main ones - everything is decided at a lower level. This ban is not for the sake of profit, but for the sake of the ban itself, something like a dictatorship that constantly reminds of itself by interfering in all spheres of life. I could be wrong, but it seems to me that this is the main thing here, and the "pretexts" can be anything - from ideology and religion to the fight against harm, etc.

The knowledge of Bangladeshi’s about internet is comparatively less but nowadays this sector has developed a lot in that country. As far as I know Bangladesh government has given highest priority to IT sector.

There are many casinos that do not support VPN while there are many casinos that do. Although the use of VPN is prohibited but in reality it is not effective in many cases. Users can gamble using VPN without any hindrance.

Whether it would be pertain into other means or into their religion then it wouldnt matter.They are the ones who do govern and whatever reasons that they do have then its their to take.
They would be running off a country which would basically be in line with religion principles i must say? Been said and mentioned that this is an Islamic country or something like that
which we know that gambling is really that prohibited or something been excluded which it wont really be surprising on what they had done.
Sad for those who had reside or live on that place but we could still engage on gambling via other access.

It will affect a big number of gamblers in their country but they hardly believe that it will have a positive effect in the long run so we can't question them regarding that matter. It is their right to apply anything that will make their country's situation better. Gambling might have been affecting their country negatively for a long time so we can't blame them for doing such a thing.

I don't think that they want a piece of the pie, sure they are doing some illegal things themselves, but maybe they just want to stop crypto to take off in their country and so the first step is to block crypto based online casinos.


Yes, bitcoin unless should be uncensored, but we all know government like in Bangladesh, doesn't want to give their people control, so they have to stop not just crypto but anything that they people are going to enjoy.

It's probably a wrong logic to argue that since politicians are almost openly laundering money why don't they allow online casinos to operate as well where money laundering could also be done by the rest? Both are illegal and should end. But it's certainly wrong to allow one simply because the other is happening.

At the very least, the commission functions and jobs are done. Sites are blocked, apps closed, various links as well. It would probably be a much bigger problem if these sites and apps are illegal but are all running openly.

Hate to see it but that's the power of the government and they are a corrupt government so...yeah.
Maybe there will be some online casino sites that will pay the government just to allow them to be used by their people or there might be some sites that will do the same as Stake does. This depends obviously on how many online gamblers are gambling in Bangladesh.

Nevertheless, use of VPN is still an option though there are some casino sites who aren't allowing their users to use VPN's. Overall, I guess this will not solve the problem of the country but at least it lessens a bit. Gamblers will and will always find a way to gain access to their favorite sites.

Every year thousands of crores of rupees are laundered out of Bangladesh through different means and with the help of various influential people, which is why the Bangladesh government is still very apprehensive about cryptocurrency and online gambling sites that if they are legalized, the amount of money laundered in the country may increase more . that's why Bangladesh still banned crypto and online casinos

As far as I can see, in Bangladesh gambling is prohibited except for horse racing and lottery, but it has no specific laws on online gambling. A smart government could implement a gambling-friendly regulation that would bring in a lot of money in the form of fees, but seeing as gambling with a physical presence is banned it doesn't look like it's going to happen.

If they are indeed concerned with money laundering, legalizing online gambling with clear regulations prevents it. Nobody launders money on pokerstars today and it was possible 15 years ago.

Bangladesh is still far behind in terms of technology due to which it is still very difficult for Bangladesh government to prevent money laundering through online so if the government thinks that they will make money from it by legalizing online gambling then it is not possible for them yet.  Because they have to develop more in terms of technology only then they will be possible

That's an opinion and I agree one of the reasons for banning gambling but not the main reason of course. According to the BTRC, they have banned casinos to prevent money laundering and ensure safe internet (what the f is that) and thus complying with the money laundering act in Bangladesh.

Source (https://europeangaming.eu/portal/compliance-updates/2019/02/19/39139/bangladesh-bans-online-gambling-websites/#:~:text=A%20top%20official%20of%20the%20BTRC%20said%20they%20have%20often%20found%20complaints%20from%20different%20sides%20about%20online%20gambling%20and%20that%20needs%20to%20block%20for%20the%20sake%20of%20safe%20internet.)

I definitely agree with you. I'm not arguing on this. I have a problem with the reasoning. Can you see the reasons? Having safe internet? Check out the above quoted post and read the link.

Basically what is happening in Bangladesh is similar to what is happening in Indonesia. Most online casinos are blocked by the official Ministry of Communication and Information Technology in Indonesia who is teaming up with most Internet Service Providers. The casinos that cares about this issue try to solve it by providing alternative link (mirror link) so players are still able to access the casino. Perhaps Bangladesh online casinos should do the same if they do not want to lose players due to the block by Internet Providers.

Both countries are Muslim countries. Where Muslims dominant the government. But this is true and effective if there is difficulty in using VPN then the number of users will not decrease if they facilitate access through mirror links from casino or gambling sites. A sports betting site called bet365 where Bangladesh was closed through BTRC. As far i know there were more than 20 mirror links available in that place for gambling at that moment.

Im not sure about that. The problem is bangladesh didn't have s specific law that was stating to ban gambling CMIIW. In my opinion if gambling was still in the grey area pretty much the same like crypto. Remember that if people can still play gambling even tough if that must be offline gambling just like person to person. Most of gambling sites got banned but there's no law that was regulating it. The answer is alternative link. This will solve all of problems by gambling site to deal with regulation like that.

The number of 331 is small knowing that online gambling is now popular and I think most that they ban are only fiat based casinos but the banning that they do is only lite because you can still access the mirror version of the gambling sites. If they are truly serious on their intention then they'll going to be a little stricter and ban everything related to it. They will also find a way to prevent an access on the gambling site using a vpn and other bypassing tools. You said politicians are also money launderers.

Although you didn't mentioned that they are gamblers, I think both acts are still linked to each other. It gives them a backfire if they ban gambling when they themselves also do it.

Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) recently blocked 331 websites related to online gambling in a bid to rein in the rapidly expanding malpractice in the country.

The initiative was a part of a regular surveillance effort of the telecom watchdog's Digital Security Cell, reads a statement.

Moreover, Google removed 14 apps from among 150 in Google Play Store which were reported by the BTRC for being connected to online betting.

"Necessary steps have been taken to remove the rest of the apps," the commission said.

Besides, 17 Facebook and 17 YouTube links have been removed after the BTRC reported 27 Facebook and 69 YouTube links to the two global firms for being used to promote gambling and provide training on how to take part in online betting. 

Maybe you are right that they are only using the ban as an excuse to hide the shady things that they do. They think some people are going to be happy once they ban gambling because those people are also anti with it. They think gambling is bad and it destroys lives but we aren't agreeing with that. Only the responsible gamblers will understand what is the true benefits of gambling.

Online gambling especially non crypto are regulated so they can be able to get tax from it unless if they don't want it anymore because their economy are doing well already. The move isn't about money laundering because laundering can happen on many ways, exchanges for instance but they didn't say that they banned it.

High likely it is owed to the fact that they don't have the control over those sites and so they can't tax those casinos accordingly. But if those sites are regulated under their government, I believe they won't have any problem. But these gamblers will always find a way how to gamble and find new casinos to play with. We are in the digital age where you can bypass the government's banning protocols.

Bypassing is very easy but of course those people or violators should really be that careful on not on being caught because if they do then we know on what are the consequences and price to pay once you had been
known that you are still accessing sites even though its been prohibited or being banned.Each country does have their own  particular takings on different industries specially on something that they cant
get a hold or able to input tax which is always been the case on why they are really that making prohibition but in overall its not really something a big problem for those
people who do really love or wants to gamble since accessing these places arent really that hard.

That's a muslim's country. That must become one of the main reason gambling is prohibited there. I meant it's also happening in majority of muslim countries caused by they were seeing gambling as something that must not be used by its believers.
That makes this become a common thing. As long as people have a way to access it if they want. that's not a problem for sure.

Bypassing the gambling restriction is not an issue but the point is why governments need to ban gambling all the time. Is gambling the only business which is harmful for the citizens? Is everything else is fine ?

The situation of using a VPN to access gambling sites is not so simple. Some people just want to comply with the rules and regulations and do not want to take risk or violate the regulation of the country. Also, some gambling sites will not allow you to use VPN and if you got caught they can block or freeze your accounts and funds.

Tax collection should be done by governments and they should focus on how to get taxes from gamblers and not focus on how to stop gambling just because they do not know how to track the online gamblers to get taxes from them.

The country rulers has the right to make a law.regarding with the safety of the people and of.course to.mke sure the safety of the people in their community issued with their side they make a ban and at the same time the government does not have any authority to make it rule because those are handle by private group or person so even though they want to make a contract with it because of the taxes they can't due to some reason.

I've read the article before I responded. I think the reason isn't to make internet a safer place but to combat money laundering. I've not made extensive research about what really motivated BTRC's actions but, at least as far as the article is concerned, it isn't indicated there that it is to avoid social ills, to keep citizens from getting addicted, to make them avoid losing money, and so on. The obvious point there is that online gambling is used to launder money, and they want to stop it.

while it is indeed that there are rulings in each country but the problem here is that  those politicians and Big players are the one who are violating the rules .

their Laws was created solely to benefits them and not the whole congregation so there are something missing in this part , for the government to succeed they must implement with Hammer hand and not just for them to break.

Earlier it is the country that arrested people for having bitcoin. The citizens were also warned with the incident, but people from Bangladesh continue using bitcoin through one way or the other. This is all because of the value they've got. So, decisions from the governments were just a way to trigger people find an alternate path. If not the authority is in need of money from the mentioned list of 331 online casinos.

Governments in less developed and developing countries worried about bitcoin adaption. They suffer from ambivalence. What should be done? However, one of the country's ICT ministers seems quite enthusiastic about Bitcoin adaption as well as Blockchain Technology. But they don't dare because of various hacking activities every now and then. However, if the neighboring country accepts it easily, then maybe the use of Bitcoin may be allowed in that country as well. It seems to take long time.

Almost all countries when politicians come to power they will only care about themselves, as if they are very clean but in fact they are crazier.
Everyone should be free to do anything as long as they can be accounted for.

If only Bangladesh blocks gambling sites, of course that's not true because the circulation of online gambling places is the main opponent, the government is working with several internet providers to eradicate gambling sites, such as in Thailand and Laos also implementing policies not to provide access to any gambling sites. They are usually gambling addicts who want access to gambling places forced to use VPN or other tools to make it easy to access.

People in Bangladesh are super poor. Think about the poorest guy you saw in your neighborhood and multiply his poorness level with 100. That’s how poor the people in Bangladesh.

Losing their life savings to the online casinos is probably the past thing these people need. I can’t say they are well educated too. Being poor and stupid is a very dangerous combination for a gambler. The poorest country in the world don’t need to gamble.

even though in my country gambling is prohibited and opening any gambling site cannot but as a true gambler there are many ways to still be able to access the gambling web. i sometimes use a VPN to open a gambling platform. well even though it sounds bad but that's the only way to still be able to gamble.
politicians have always been greedy people who only seek their own profit at all costs. but they can't limit gamblers to stop gambling it sounds selfish and nothing will ever stop online gambling.
many countries do not allow gambling in blocking gambling sites for any reason. but still we as gamblers have different ways to keep gambling. for me gambling is a freedom that no one can forbid

Agree with you. Nowadays, politicians want to possess many things and seem to act like people with great power in controlling the government, so they want to get more things. And regarding Bangladesh, maybe this is just a game of elite politicians who want to regulate gambling there. I think using VPN will be people's choice to continue gambling when gambling in that country is banned. But again, gambling can attract people to try their luck.

And you know what's the worse with them? If they've got allies in the committee that makes laws or in the senate, there will be laws made that are in favor of them.
That's why the rich politicians are staying there because they're benefiting from the said law. But for such laws like this, aren't they aware that they're removing the opportunity for them to make taxes and as well as give jobs to some of their countrymen?

But if you always use a VPN then it will make it too complicated for to access gambling places, using a VPN has the advantage of having good internet security, If you use a Smartphone it will be difficult to configure the internet network used, but if you use a device such as a computer then you can change DNS to


With this configuration I hope you can access all gambling sites without using a VPN.

I'm sure casinos are aware of it and they don't care if their casino is banned in that part of the world there's the possibility that casinos are banning Bangladesh because of the economic condition and the same time the harsh treatment of the government at online casinos, the government may be right in banning casinos as they don't want their people to engage to a game of chance in the hope of lifting their economic condition through gambling.

But, A lot of people appreciate this.
Bangladeshi Politicians send money to their foreign bank accounts and buy lands and other property there. So they can move there permanently once their period is over. They steal thousands of dollars to recruit people. It's an open secret in Bangladesh. While some politicians enjoy casino games when they visit other countries, in the meantime, they banned gambling websites to prevent money laundering.

The ban might be a political move by the ruling Awami League to attract voters. The next Presidential elections would be held in February 2022 and the party is willing to do anything possible to please the populace. And 89% of the country's population are Muslims who see gambling as a sin. Politicians always pretend that the reason for the ban is because they want to reduce the high rate of gambling addiction and money laundering.

The case of gambling addiction among underaged online casino users is a really big concern because it has increased over the last few years. But this can be controlled or reduced through different effective preventive and regulative means than the ban. Politicians who are the main money launderers know that online casinos are their least means of money laundry, hence their decision always have other undertones. 

Although the government has given some concessions to gambling in Bangladesh, it has taken tough legal measures against gambling control measures.  A few days ago it was reported that some gambling site controllers have been arrested by the police and action is being taken to punish them severely . And Bangladesh Bank has recently announced a ban on cryptocurrencies again and said strict action will be taken against anyone who buys, sells or trades cryptocurrencies.