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The Ministry of Home Affairs in Bangladesh has released a draft Gambling Prevention Bill of 2026 that would overhaul the Public Gambling Act of 1867. The proposal expands the definition of gambling to include a wide range of online activities—sports betting, esports betting, fantasy betting, and cryptocurrency‑based wagering—and grants regulators sweeping powers to monitor, block, and penalise participants. Crucially, the bill authorises the use of artificial‑intelligence‑driven monitoring tools, deep‑packet inspection, risk‑scoring algorithms and data‑analytics platforms to identify suspicious transactions, websites, apps and devices. It also creates a national digital blacklist that links national ID numbers, SIM registrations, bank and digital‑wallet accounts, and device identifiers. Penalties range from two‑year jail terms for casual gamblers to up to seven years and fines of up to BDT 5 crore (≈ US$ 5.3 million) for operators, promoters and those using technical infrastructure such as VPNs or cloud services to facilitate gambling.
The draft Gambling Prevention Bill of 2026 was unveiled by Bangladesh’s Ministry of Home Affairs as a replacement for the Public Gambling Act of 1867, which was drafted during British colonial rule. The new legislation broadens the definition of gambling to cover traditional casino games as well as a spectrum of online betting formats, including sports betting, live betting, virtual betting, fantasy sports, esports betting, and gambling conducted via cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDT.
Beyond redefining gambling, the bill grants law‑enforcement agencies the authority to freeze bank accounts, mobile‑financial‑service accounts, payment gateways, digital‑wallets and cryptocurrency wallets linked to gambling activities. It also creates a national digital blacklist that will store personal identifiers (national ID, SIM details, device IDs) and technical identifiers (IP addresses, domain names, application hashes) of suspected offenders. The blacklist is intended to be shared across ministries, including the ICT Ministry, the Bangladesh Bank, the Financial Intelligence Unit, the Election Commission, the National Cyber Security Agency and other intelligence bodies.
Chapter 4, Section 43 explicitly authorises the use of artificial‑intelligence‑driven monitoring technology, deep‑packet inspection (DPI), risk‑scoring models, transaction‑monitoring systems and data‑analytics tools to detect suspicious gambling‑related activity. The bill also mandates biometric verification—such as facial‑recognition checks—linked to national ID numbers for cross‑checking telecom and financial records. Penalties range from two‑year imprisonment and BDT 200,000 fines for casual participants to up to seven‑year jail terms and BDT 5 crore fines for operators, promoters, and those using technical infrastructure to facilitate gambling.
Enforcement responsibilities are divided among several agencies: the Ministry of Home Affairs will lead policy oversight; the ICT and Posts and Telecommunications Ministry will regulate online platforms; the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) will shut down illegal websites, apps, domains and IP addresses; and financial monitoring will be handled by Bangladesh Bank and the Financial Intelligence Unit. Additional support is expected from the Election Commission, intelligence agencies, CID and the National Cyber Security Agency.
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The draft law marks one of the first instances where a national government explicitly embeds AI‑based surveillance into a criminal‑justice framework for gambling. By mandating AI‑driven transaction monitoring and biometric verification, Bangladesh could set a precedent for other jurisdictions seeking to curb online betting through technology‑heavy regulation. The approach raises significant privacy and civil‑rights concerns, especially given the proposed linkage of biometric data, telecom records and financial accounts to a centralized blacklist. If enacted, the bill could dramatically reshape the regional iGaming market, forcing operators to either relocate or invest heavily in compliance systems capable of evading AI detection. The policy also illustrates how governments are leveraging AI not just for public‑safety but for economic and moral regulation, a trend that may accelerate worldwide.
AI surveillance in a criminal‑law framework signals a shift toward technology‑centric regulation, potentially influencing other emerging economies that face similar challenges with online gambling and illicit finance. The bill’s reliance on AI for transaction monitoring and risk scoring could accelerate the development of domestic AI capabilities, but it also raises questions about , , and oversight.
The extensive data collection and cross‑linking of biometric, telecom and financial records pose significant privacy risks. Critics argue that a centralized blacklist could be misused for broader surveillance beyond gambling, eroding civil liberties. The lack of publicly disclosed safeguards or independent audit mechanisms amplifies these concerns.
For the iGaming industry, the bill could act as a market‑entry barrier. Operators may need to invest in sophisticated compliance solutions—such as AI‑evasion tools or geo‑blocking technologies—to continue serving Bangladeshi users, or they may choose to withdraw entirely. This could reshape regional gambling revenue streams and shift user traffic to jurisdictions with less stringent AI‑driven enforcement.
Internationally, the legislation may affect cross‑border financial flows, especially if Bangladeshi banks are required to block transactions linked to gambling platforms operating abroad. This could have ripple effects on global payment processors and cryptocurrency exchanges that serve South Asian markets.
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Key indicators to monitor include: (1) parliamentary debate outcomes and any amendments that soften or tighten AI‑related provisions; (2) the timeline for establishing the national digital blacklist and the technical standards for AI monitoring tools; (3) reactions from domestic and international iGaming operators, especially regarding compliance costs and potential relocation; (4) civil‑society and privacy‑rights group responses that could trigger legal challenges; and (5) whether Bangladesh’s telecom regulator (BTRC) begins issuing technical directives for AI‑enabled site blocking and DPI deployment.
Parliamentary debate: Whether the draft passes unchanged, is amended to reduce AI surveillance scope, or is delayed. Any amendment that introduces oversight committees or data‑protection safeguards would be noteworthy.
Technical rollout: Publication of standards for AI monitoring tools, DPI equipment, and biometric verification systems. The timeline for building the national digital blacklist and the agencies responsible for its maintenance will indicate how quickly enforcement could begin.
Industry response: Statements from major iGaming operators, payment processors, and cryptocurrency exchanges about compliance costs, potential relocation, or legal challenges. A coordinated industry lobby could influence legislative outcomes.
Civil‑society reaction: Input from privacy NGOs, human‑rights groups, and legal scholars. Legal challenges based on constitutional or data‑protection grounds could delay or reshape the law.
International implications: Reactions from neighboring countries and global regulators, especially regarding cross‑border data sharing and financial transaction monitoring. Any coordination with regional bodies like SAARC could amplify the law’s impact.