Egypt moves toward explicit ban on online gambling apps

Egypt is preparing legal amendments that would explicitly criminalise online betting, addressing a regulatory gap in laws that currently focus on physical gambling venues.

Gambling is already prohibited for Egyptian citizens under existing law. The Civil Code voids gambling contracts, the Penal Code criminalises gambling activity, and casino regulations only allow foreign passport holders to gamble in licensed hotels. However, current laws do not specifically address online gambling.

Despite the ban, enforcement has been limited, and some users in Egypt still access offshore betting sites using VPNs and foreign payment methods. Lawmakers have also raised concerns about Arabic-language gambling platforms operating from overseas licences and targeting local users.

Ahmed Badawi, Chair of the House Communications and Information Technology Committee, said in May that the government is expected to submit amendments to the Cybercrime Law that would explicitly include online betting applications.

The proposed changes would directly name electronic gambling and increase penalties, with the most serious cases involving organised crime and large-scale fraud potentially carrying sentences of up to life imprisonment.

Egypt has already begun expanding enforcement against online betting platforms. In February, Badawi stated that the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation were working to block roughly 80% of online betting applications, based on technical assessments prepared with parliamentary input.

Badawi has emphasised that the objective is not broader internet censorship but the removal of harmful services, stating that blocked gambling apps would not be allowed to return under future legislation.

A parallel legislative proposal from within the same parliamentary committee offers insight into how penalties may be structured. In January 2025, Martha Mahrous introduced a draft bill criminalising electronic betting. In public comments, she warned that online gambling has become a growing social risk, particularly among young users, arguing that existing laws are insufficient.

Her draft legislation outlines a tiered penalty system in which agents and intermediaries could face two to five years in prison along with fines ranging from EGP 1 million to EGP 5 million ($20,100), while payment facilitators could face up to six months in prison and smaller fines, and platform operators or sponsors could face two to five years in prison and fines of up to EGP 10 million ($202,000).

Badawi said that the government is preparing its own version of amendments rather than adopting Mahrous’ proposal directly, though both efforts are seen as part of a coordinated policy direction.

Key questions remain over enforcement mechanisms, particularly regarding VPN usage and the legal responsibility of banks and digital payment providers that may process gambling-related transactions.

Some draft discussions have also raised the possibility of penalties for users accessing banned platforms, though no official government text has confirmed this.

As of late June, the government’s Cybercrime Law amendments have not yet been formally scheduled for parliamentary debate, despite earlier indications that a draft would be submitted after the major Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha.

If enacted in line with current proposals, Egypt’s new framework would significantly escalate penalties for online gambling activity, shifting from loosely enforced restrictions to a structured legal regime targeting operators, intermediaries, and financial channels supporting the industry.