Egypt is preparing to close a legal gap that has let online betting flourish for years, with the government expected to submit amendments to the Cybercrime Law that would explicitly criminalise electronic gambling. Ahmed Badawi, chair of the House Communications and Information Technology Committee, confirmed in May 2026 that the executive is drafting its own text, separate from a parallel bill already tabled in parliament. The proposed penalties run far beyond fines: in the most serious cases tied to organised crime and large-scale fraud, sentences could reach life imprisonment. For offshore operators and the payment channels that serve Egyptian bettors, the calculus is about to change.
What the New Rules Mean for Operators and Payment Firms
The amendments do not arrive in a vacuum. Egypt already bans gambling for its citizens through three separate instruments, but none of them was written with smartphones in mind. Here is what the shift signals for the market.
- A dedicated enforcement tool. The amendments would name electronic gambling directly, replacing reliance on a single, dated Penal Code article that lawmakers consider inadequate.
- Liability spreads down the chain. Operators, local agents acting for bettors, and payment facilitators could all face exposure, not just the platforms themselves.
- Life sentences are on the table for the worst offences involving criminal networks.
- The blocking campaign continues in parallel. Roughly 80% of online betting applications were targeted for blocking based on technical reports prepared with Badawi’s committee.
- Banks face an open question. A knowledge-based standard for facilitators would force payment providers to decide how, in practice, they police transactions they may not fully see.
A Prohibition Written for Casinos, Not Apps
Egypt’s existing framework is layered but old. The Civil Code voids gambling contracts. The Penal Code criminalises the activity itself. Hotel-casino legislation carves out a narrow exception, permitting gambling only for foreign passport holders inside licensed venues.
And while the letter of the law has been clear for decades, enforcement against online play has lagged. Many Egyptians reach offshore sportsbooks through VPNs and foreign payment channels, sidestepping a prohibition that was never designed for cross-border digital traffic. Arabic-language platforms operating on foreign licences have drawn years of parliamentary complaints. The gap was structural: the statutes simply do not speak to online gambling in explicit terms.
That is the gap the Cybercrime Law amendments are meant to fill.
The Blocking Campaign Already Underway
Legislation is the slower track. Blocking has moved faster. In February 2026, Badawi said the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation were working to block about 80% of online betting applications.
The most visible casualty so far has been Russian-licensed 1xBet, which had run heavy influencer and social media promotion across Egypt. It was removed from Google Play and the App Store in September 2024 after a wave of complaints and recommendations from the communications committee. Similar action against MelBet followed in early 2026 as part of a broader takedown.
Badawi has been blunt on intent: blocked apps will not be allowed back, and the new legislation is being drafted specifically to close the loopholes that let them spread. The aim, he has stressed repeatedly, is not to restrict technology in general but to shut down services he considers harmful.
How the Penalties Could Be Tiered
The sharpest picture of how sanctions might be calibrated comes from a separate initiative inside the same committee. In January 2025, deputy chair MP Martha Mahrous tabled her own bill to criminalise electronic betting, framing the problem in clinical terms. “We are facing a kind of addiction, and scientifically we treat the young person as addicted to these practices,” she said in a television interview.
Her draft, published by local media, sets out a three-tier structure:
| Role | Imprisonment | Fines |
|---|---|---|
| Agents and de facto managers acting for bettors | 2 to 5 years | EGP1m to EGP5m (roughly $20,099 at the lower bound) |
| Payment facilitators | Up to 6 months | EGP50,000 to EGP200,000 |
| Those running, sponsoring or implementing platforms | 2 to 5 years | EGP5m to EGP10m |
Badawi has since confirmed the government is preparing its own amendments rather than adopting the Mahrous text wholesale. The two instruments are not identical, and her bill has not reached full House debate. Together, though, they show a committee working two tracks at once. Mahrous caps her penalties at five years. Badawi’s outline raises the ceiling to life imprisonment for the most serious digital gambling offences, a wide gulf between the two documents.
The Questions That Remain Open
Several practical issues are still unresolved. How will any final government text treat VPN access, the very tool that lets users reach blocked sites? The Mahrous draft assumes a knowledge-based standard for facilitators, yet banks and electronic payment providers have not publicly explained how they would apply that test to real transactions.
Early drafts hint at fines for users who keep accessing banned apps. No official text spelling out user-side liability has been published. Badawi previously indicated the text would reach parliament after Eid al-Adha, which fell in June, but as of late June no draft had appeared on the House agenda or been scheduled for debate.
If the government follows the Mahrous template even loosely, Egypt would likely end up with one of the toughest online betting regimes in the region (a distinction some lawmakers seem to welcome). Operators, local agents and payment facilitators could face multi-year prison terms and multi-million-pound fines layered on top of the blocking campaign already in motion.
FAQ
Is online gambling currently legal in Egypt?
No. Gambling is prohibited for Egyptian citizens under the Civil Code, the Penal Code and hotel-casino legislation, with a narrow exception for foreign passport holders in licensed casinos. The existing laws do not address online betting explicitly, which is the gap the proposed amendments target.
What penalties does the proposed legislation introduce?
The Mahrous bill sets fines up to EGP10 million and prison terms up to five years across three categories of offender. Badawi’s government amendments go further, raising the prospect of life sentences in cases involving organised criminal networks and large-scale fraud.
Have any betting apps already been blocked?
Yes. 1xBet was removed from Google Play and the App Store in September 2024, and similar action against MelBet was reported in early 2026.
Could ordinary users be fined?
Possibly. Early drafts point to fines for people who continue accessing banned apps, though no official text confirming user-side liability has been published.
When will the law pass?
No date has been set. Badawi suggested submission after the June Eid al-Adha holiday, but the amendments had not been tabled or scheduled for debate by late June.
