Egypt Moves to Ban Online Gambling With New Cybercrime Law

Egypt is preparing to overhaul its approach to online gambling, with parliament drafting amendments to the country’s Cybercrime Law that would explicitly ban betting platforms for the first time. The proposed changes carry penalties potentially reaching life imprisonment. Thus, marking a significant escalation in a country that has long banned gambling but never built a legal framework equipped to deal with the digital version of it.

A Law That Never Caught Up With the Internet

Egypt has prohibited gambling for decades. The Civil Code voids gambling contracts, and the Penal Code criminalises wagering activity. Land-based casinos operate legally, but only for foreign passport holders and only in foreign currency. For Egyptian residents, gambling in any form has always been off limits.

The problem is that none of that legislation was written with the internet in mind. Existing laws do not address online gambling directly, and that gap has fuelled years of parliamentary complaints about Arabic-language platforms operating from foreign licences. Offshore sportsbooks found that Egypt’s legal framework had no mechanism to catch them. Many Egyptian users access those platforms through VPNs and foreign payment channels, and the volume has grown considerably.

Foreign companies currently dominate Egypt’s online betting market, exploiting the gaps in existing regulations. The sports betting segment alone is projected to surpass $2.9 billion by 2032. Egyptian officials argue that most of that revenue flows to offshore companies with no benefit to the national economy, and the new legislation is designed to change that.

What the New Legislation Would Do

Ahmed Badawi, head of the House of Representatives’ Communications and Information Technology Committee, announced that the government is expected to submit amendments to Egypt’s Cybercrime Law after Eid al-Adha. The proposed changes would explicitly criminalise online betting applications, following a rise in fraud cases linked to such platforms. Current legislation already penalises illegal electronic applications used in cybercrimes, but it does not specifically mention online betting.

The new amendments would directly address electronic gambling and introduce tougher penalties. In major cases involving organised criminal networks and large-scale fraud, those penalties could reach life imprisonment. That is a significant jump from anything currently on the books, and it signals that Egypt intends to treat large-scale online gambling operations as a serious criminal matter rather than a regulatory grey area.

Under the draft framework, users who access banned platforms would also face penalties. Legal loopholes that previously allowed offshore operators to function with limited oversight would be closed. New platforms would need to obtain accreditation through locally registered legal representatives to ensure accountability and compliance.

A Blocking Campaign Already Underway

The legislative push is running alongside an active blocking campaign. Egyptian internet providers are set to receive instructions to block betting and casino services operating without permission, with 1xBet named as the first major target. Earlier in 2026, action was also taken against MelBet as part of a broader takedown against online betting apps.

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation have both been involved in site removals, with some apps already pulled from major app stores. Badawi has been clear that blocked platforms will not be permitted to return, and that the new legislation is being designed to prevent them from finding new routes back in.

How Egypt Compares in the Region

Egypt’s direction stands out in a region where online gambling policy is shifting fast, but not always in the same direction. The UAE, which historically prohibited all gambling, has begun building oversight infrastructure through its General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority, covering lotteries, online gaming, and sports wagering. Saudi Arabia continues to outlaw gambling outright under Sharia law, with penalties including fines, imprisonment, and asset confiscation, and shows no sign of reform. Morocco allows casinos and sports betting but leaves online gambling largely unregulated, enabling offshore platforms to operate freely.

Egypt is not opening up. It is closing down, and doing so with penalties far harsher than anything seen elsewhere in the region.

What Comes Next

No draft text has appeared on the parliamentary agenda as of late June, and no debate date has been confirmed. The timeline remains uncertain, but the direction is not.

If the Egypt online gambling law reaches its final form with the penalties currently being discussed, the country would move from a gap-ridden prohibition to one of the toughest digital gambling regimes in the world. Operators with Egyptian users, payment processors handling those transactions, and local intermediaries would all face serious legal exposure. For now, the blocking campaign continues while parliament works on giving it statutory teeth.