Can Gamblers Go to Jail Under Bangladesh’s New Gambling Law?

[Hispo]

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What can you say about this?

Actually, there is nothing new about legislation like this being passed into law, specially in countries which could be considered to be part of the so-called "third world". Gamblers are never fully viewed as victims of a system which has exploited them.
They are rather seen as irresponsible people and sometimes (as in this case), they are seen as people who willingly break the law for the sake of money in their respective countries.
Hopefully this won't become the case for people in Bangladesh, but again, it would not surprise me if it does.

One thing is to openly prosecute casinos which operate illegally in one country, and a different thing is to prosecute gamblers within the same jurisdiction.

[TheUltraElite]

Its about running a gambling site, not participating in gambling. But reading the discussion I do feel like gamblers are also going to be targeted.

However one must remember that Bangladesh is one of those countries where problems have been there since its creation. The government there was corrupt and it was recently usurped. Now the power is in whose hands I dont know, but they are probably going to use this as an excuse for capturing or taking fines from people who are at any point of time involved in gambling and have some problems with the government.

Its political, nothing more.

[TopTort777]

This is a great example how confusing information in internet is. I have googled "Gambling Bangladesh" and first words that google showed me was "Gambling is legal in Bangladesh", but scrolling down I have found that Gambling in most forms is banned in Bangladesh with the exception of wagering on some horse racing government-approve lotteries. What is correct then? One say it is legal, others that it is not, and I can end with getting in jail for gambling. I guess then gambling in and running an illegal casino get under new law and people can end in jail.

[Bitcoin.com97]

I have not been to that place but based on my understanding,I think there government is strict to gamblers and their operators,and treating them like a common criminal if caught in the act, that is the height of it ,and Imagine the fine that is involved too,that is huge,which I believe that will be the end of such operation in that country,I also think if such law is been given in other countries,the rate of addiction can be controlled,I'm not even talking about running a gamble site,some countries need a strict governance to make somethings right .

[pawanjain]

I was just browsing online and saw this gambling news, so I thought of sharing it here. It is about Bangladesh, and I’m sure there are some members here living in that country, so please share your experience or knowledge about this because my understanding is only based on the article I read.

From what I understand, anyone running an online casino or betting platform can face up to 7 years of jail time, but what surprised me more is this part:

https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/js-passes-anti-gambling-law-4212651

“According to the law, anyone directly or indirectly involved in gambling will face up to two years’ imprisonment, a maximum fine of Tk 2,00,000, or both.”

So does that mean even if you are not an operator but only a gambler, you can still go to jail? In other countries, gamblers are often seen more as victims, especially if addiction is involved, but here it looks like they can also be treated as criminals.

What can you say about this?

I don't think it is the gamblers who will have to face the jail but for operating a gambling site there are multiple requirements.
So those who are operating the site (as in the owners) and the team working under them are the ones affected this case.
Anyone who is contributing to running the site will face the jail term as per my understanding but I could be wrong.

[Padi24]

I don't think it is the gamblers who will have to face the jail but for operating a gambling site there are multiple requirements.
So those who are operating the site (as in the owners) and the team working under them are the ones affected this case.
Anyone who is contributing to running the site will face the jail term as per my understanding but I could be wrong.

No that's not true, you should know that most of this gambling sites the owner could be someone who is not a citizen of Bangladesh, unless there's a team working under them who are from Bangladesh. Instead of the government to set such rule why not reaching out the casino/ betting companies to restrict users from Bangladesh from accessing Thier platforms, I think these will be more effective than these jail terms. So Long as they still have access to online gambling some set of people will still continue gambling because they believe the government wouldn't find out.

[Su-asa]

This law was passed as an act to prevent gambling addiction, I did my research on this and found out that it is actually facts. If you are caught in the act of gambling online the person involved can be jailed for more than 5 years but I still don't understand why they make such strict rules. If they are trying to reduce the rate of addiction in the country I believe that other measures can be taken like creating an awareness so gamblers can be reminded of the dangers of gambling addiction.

[bakasabo]

This law was passed as an act to prevent gambling addiction, I did my research on this and found out that it is actually facts. If you are caught in the act of gambling online the person involved can be jailed for more than 5 years but I still don't understand why they make such strict rules. If they are trying to reduce the rate of addiction in the country I believe that other measures can be taken like creating an awareness so gamblers can be reminded of the dangers of gambling addiction.

Such strict rules I think will only increase number of illegal gambling, or people will gamble abroad. If government of Bangladesh was earning by taxing gambling, then they will face a deficit in budget. I am not sure if jail was the right punishment for those who loves to gamble. Just because person entertains more than needed by gambling is not a good idea to put him in area with criminals who have committed more serious crimes than «having fun».

[Crypto Library]

So how do you guys handle gambling? VPN or hidden services ?  Because I know they will be a check for "gambling" on every site you visit . They should be banned anyway . Are they? If yes the the rule is on accessing it illegally since it's banned anyways. What part is right?

Even if gambling is banned in our country, if someone is not connected to it in a big way, they are not brought under the law. And besides, the technical resources of our country's law enforcement agencies have not reached the level where they can track gambling of even the smallest amount, and in this case, many of our country's gamblers benefit to some extent.

I mean, the thing is that there are laws here, but the law is not enforced. Sometimes we may see some news where gamblers or people associated with gambling are being arrested.

[rachael9385]

Such strict rules I think will only increase number of illegal gambling, or people will gamble abroad. If government of Bangladesh was earning by taxing gambling, then they will face a deficit in budget. I am not sure if jail was the right punishment for those who loves to gamble. Just because person entertains more than needed by gambling is not a good idea to put him in area with criminals who have committed more serious crimes than «having fun».

I agree with you on this, in a country where gambling is being regulated in a strict way it is only going to make the situation worse, this can increase or lead to the rise of underground gambling and for those that understands this type of gambling it's a place that crime thrives a lot which can cause a lot of damage to a country.

[danherbias07]

I don't get it. After I read that gambling is legal in Bangladesh, there's also a Public Gambling Act of 1867, which prohibits local gambling. That's kind of confusing. I guess they are getting stricter and probably on the way to ban all gambling platforms, but they are not there yet. So, they only impose this new gambling law to try to minimize gambling.

Gambling is Haram, and Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country. So there's really no sense for a gambling business to be in their country because of a lack of customers. But, I guess it's because there are still some who are not Muslims, and they are the target of the law.

[Ronsbit]

From what I have seen from your OP and article, it seems the country placed a ban on gambling and casinos are not authorised to operate in the country that is what it means and there are punishment for anyone who goes against the law which requires a 2 years jail term for individuals who gambles and also 7years jail term for those who run casinos both online and offline. The law is clear and understandable. For this, it is very clear that gambling is restricted in that country which means the law would take its course on anyone found wanting of the offense.

[sompitonov]

I don't get it. After I read that gambling is legal in Bangladesh, there's also a Public Gambling Act of 1867, which prohibits local gambling. That's kind of confusing. I guess they are getting stricter and probably on the way to ban all gambling platforms, but they are not there yet. So, they only impose this new gambling law to try to minimize gambling.

Gambling is Haram, and Bangladesh is a Muslim-majority country. So there's really no sense for a gambling business to be in their country because of a lack of customers. But, I guess it's because there are still some who are not Muslims, and they are the target of the law.

This is likely true, but those segments of the population permitted to gamble will do so. It's certainly better to open a business where a large percentage of the population can gamble, rather than just a minority. Although I think this niche will be filled by local businesses, this isn't limited to brick-and-mortar establishments. Even those prohibited from gambling may likely try to circumvent these restrictions and try to play online to gain access to the game, although in doing so, they take on a significant risk of not being paid out when they win a large sum due to, for example, breaking the rules.

[Furious 7]

This regulation is the same as what happens in my country because my country also applies the same thing where players or site managers if proven to be gambling then all of them will get a prison sentence. But this regulation depends on the implementation.

If your state becomes selective and makes this a priority then it is likely that there will be a lot of gamblers imprisoned because of the new regulation but when its implementation is still minimal then it is just a regulation without implementation.  In my country the punishment for those who do gambling regardless of whether they are players or bookmakers is prison but because there are still a lot of corrupt practices among officials, this will still be very easy to manipulate because there are corrupt officials who are back up and corruption is still rife even though the regulations have been in place since the beginning.

I had to find out for myself if this news is true and it turns out to be true and this gambling prevention act was only instituted on the 1st of this month to replace the old colonial gambling act of 1867.
It's good about the implementation, it shows that the government isn't concerned about the revenue they would normally stand to benefit from while these gambling businesses operate in that jurisdiction and while I pity those average bettors who are now going to be treated as criminals if caught gambling, this implementation goes as far to please their old religious norms and fight corruption in the form of money laundering and addiction that's caused by gambling while we forget that this is the digital age and if such laws are implemented to save old religious beliefs, then more has to be done to restrict digital growth and new technology in that region too so as they remain conservative and myopic in reality.

Gambling businesses in this region would have to relocate to more favorable places a d gamblers too or simply quit hard cold turkey just to be safe from prison sentence or huge fines.

If the implementation is good then maybe the number of gamblers reduction in your country will decrease significantly but when gambling is still rampant it means that the implementation still remains bad and has not gone as it should.

But it depends on your own government later if indeed they are serious and there are not many corrupt officials in your country then maybe things like this will look for the better even though they sacrifice income from gambling but it is comparable so that not many people feel addicted. But when there is still a lot of corruption in your country and a lot of corrupt officials today are still in fairly good positions in government then I think the impelement will be the same as in my country now. In the regulation of gambling is illegal but in reality gambling is still very prevalent because there are corrupt officials who protect behind it even though gambling remains illegal.

[ImGenius]

From what I understand from this article. As per this bill all those who participate in gambling and those who operate gambling can face legal consequences. Personally I think its real target will always be the gaming operators and organized gambling networks as they are the ones who are earning the most money through it. If the government wants to practice this law on every gambling participant then it will require a huge amount of resources which may bring result that this law may never be used in real life for a individual.

[Cointxz]

Afaik, majority of muslim countries are applying the same regulation. They see user as a part of gambling ecosystem. That's why they're giving punishment to the users too.

This accurate since it’s against their religion which they consider with their country law.

The problem is many online casino doesn’t restrict them specifically rather it gives them some loopholes that play at your own risk type ToS while we all know that government will have a hard time to determine if someone is playing online casino unless they are regulating all the device their citizens use.

I saw many country that has strict gambling rules that still allowed to gamble on some online casino.

[iv4n]

Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.

2 to 5 years if you wish to gamble with your own money? This is a serious thing...

Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.

This is crazy in so many ways. While some countries are moving forward, apparently others are moving backward.

And the question is... what would we do if something like this happened in the country we live in?

[suzanne5223]

So does that mean even if you are not an operator but only a gambler, you can still go to jail? In other countries, gamblers are often seen more as victims, especially if addiction is involved, but here it looks like they can also be treated as criminals.

What can you say about this?

I'm not from there, but based on my understanding of the country's rules.
Yes, under the new gambling prevention act 2026 rules passed by the country's parliament, gamblers can go to jail, and that includes anyone who participates in gambling activities.
With up to 2 years imprisonment, a fine of about US$1,620 for physical gamblers, online gambling is 5 years imprisonment with a fine of about US$81,000, while online betting participation will be given 7 years imprisonment, and a fine of about US$405,000.
The option for gamblers from there is to go outside the border of the country that supports gambling.

[DPHOR]

From what I have seen from your OP and article, it seems the country placed a ban on gambling and casinos are not authorised to operate in the country that is what it means and there are punishment for anyone who goes against the law which requires a 2 years jail term for individuals who gambles and also 7years jail term for those who run casinos both online and offline. The law is clear and understandable. For this, it is very clear that gambling is restricted in that country which means the law would take its course on anyone found wanting of the offense.

If the law has already frown gambling there is no need to go against the terms and conditions that enacted by the country which every fellow should be abiding. Of course, there is a reason for the restrictions because most people aren't doing the right thing anymore because of what gambling had already caused them in their entire life.
Government has the final say of every country and if gambling ban there is no reason anyone should be gambling.

[DiMarxist]

Is the law only concerned about online gambling or Casino's on the road, it's not clear to me while going through the link . Because from what am reading there is a total blocking of gambling in Bangledesh but, the truth is this is the twenty first century so some laws will be seen as archaic even though it may be like the government is trying to help her citizens from harm, and this law is something similar to it. Government can only put some regulatory measures to cut down addiction and abuse but a total band on gambling is not something that I don't buy into, it's the right of the citizens to do what ever that they like. If what they are doing is not against the law.