Online gambling in Mongolia: regulation, licence and market guide

Is online gambling legal in Mongolia?

Until 2025 Mongolia tolerated a small licensed sector of betting shops and lotteries under the Law on Permits while prohibiting casinos. In its spring 2025 session the State Great Khural approved government amendments to the Law on Permits (26 March 2025) and passed the related laws on 30 May 2025, removing every gambling permit category and prohibiting paid prediction and betting games, online gambling and paid lotteries outright. The Criminal Code now punishes organizing such activities and repeatedly lending payment accounts, electronic money, virtual assets or phone numbers to them, the Law on Infringement penalizes advertising, and the excise and income-tax provisions that applied to betting were repealed. A 2022 draft Law on Casinos for a free economic zone near the new airport was never enacted.

Prohibited: Online gambling is illegal for operators and players and is enforced.

Who regulates gambling in Mongolia?

• Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs (Хууль зүй, дотоод хэргийн яам) (MOJHA) — Drafted the 2025 prohibition and the earlier casino, betting and lottery bills; responsible for criminal and infringement law policy
• National Police Agency of Mongolia (Цагдаагийн ерөнхий газар) (NPA) — Investigates gambling offenses under the Criminal Code, including online operations and account lending

Mongolia gambling licence: how it works

No gambling licence of any kind can be obtained in Mongolia. The 2025 amendments to the Law on Permits deleted the permit categories that previously covered betting and paid lotteries, so the licensed betting shops that operated in Ulaanbaatar lost their legal basis, and no online licence ever existed. Casinos have been prohibited since the 1998 casino law was repealed within months of adoption over corruption allegations. The government's December 2022 draft Law on Casinos would have allowed foreigner-only casinos in the Khushig Valley free economic zone for investors committing at least US$300 million, but the bill stalled in committee and was overtaken by the 2025 ban.

What an applicant needs

• Casino, betting, lottery and online gambling: no licensing route exists after the 2025 amendments
• Organizing paid prediction or betting games, in public places or online, is a Criminal Code offense
• Lending payment accounts, e-money, virtual assets or phone numbers to a gambling operation is a separate offense
• Advertising or soliciting gambling is an infringement subject to fines

Gambling taxes in Mongolia

• Operators: None; gambling cannot be licensed. The excise on betting equipment and the corporate and personal income-tax provisions that applied to betting operators were repealed with the 2025 ban.
• Players: None applicable; participation in banned gambling exposes players to infringement or criminal proceedings depending on their role.
• Also: Criminal penalties for organizers range from fines of 2,700 to 14,000 units and 240 to 720 hours of community service to travel restrictions and imprisonment of six months to three years; account and phone-number lending carries fines of 450 to 5,400 units or up to one year's imprisonment.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Any promotion or solicitation of paid prediction, betting or gambling is an administrative violation under the Law on Infringement, with higher liability for content that encourages children and young people to take part. The Law on Advertising was amended in 2025 to match.

Responsible gaming

Policy is prohibition rather than harm reduction: lawmakers cited household debt, youth gambling and capital outflow as reasons for the 2025 ban, and the state funds no regulated-gambling safeguards because no regulated gambling exists.

Identity and age verification

Not applicable; there are no licensed operators. Banks and payment providers are expected to identify accounts used for gambling settlement, since repeated lending of accounts is now a crime.

Payments

There is no lawful payment rail for gambling. The 2025 Criminal Code amendments target the use of bank accounts, electronic money, virtual assets, telecom numbers and electronic identifiers to organize betting or gambling, whether in the holder's own name or someone else's.

Notable restrictions

• All paid betting, prediction games, online gambling and paid lotteries are prohibited since 2025
• Casinos have been illegal since 1998; the 2022 casino bill was not enacted
• Organizers face fines, community service, travel bans or up to three years' imprisonment
• Advertising or encouraging participation is a punishable infringement

Mongolia iGaming market: size, players and payments

No reliable public estimate. Before the ban a small number of permitted betting shops and lottery operators served Ulaanbaatar; their turnover was never published in consolidated form.

No licensed operators remain after the 2025 amendments.

Timeline: how Mongolia got here

1. 1998Law on Casinos adopted and repealed within months amid corruption allegations
2. 2022-04Parliament approves the Khushig Valley free economic zone near the new international airport
3. 2022-12Government submits draft laws on casinos, betting and lotteries to support the Years to Visit Mongolia program
4. 2025-03State Great Khural approves amendments to the Law on Permits prohibiting paid betting, online gambling and paid lotteries
5. 2025-05Related amendments to the Criminal Code, Law on Infringement, Law on Advertising and tax laws pass on 30 May
6. 2025-08Parliament confirms the full prohibition and penalty framework in a public statement

Outlook

The prohibition is new and enforcement practice against foreign websites is still forming; expect police action to focus on domestic organizers, agents and account lenders. Trade press reported a separate government intention to create a tightly controlled state sports-wagering framework, but no such law had been published as of September 2026, and the Khushig Valley casino concept has no active bill. Compliance teams should treat Mongolia as fully closed until a statute says otherwise.

GameBridge and Mongolia

Not served by GameBridge. Mongolia prohibits all paid betting, online gambling and lotteries with criminal penalties for organizers and their payment intermediaries, so no GameBridge brand may accept players located there.

Mongolia is excluded by GameBridge geo-controls by default, with IP, device and payment-country checks blocking registration and play. This page exists so compliance teams can confirm quickly that the 2025 amendments closed what had been a small permitted betting sector and that account lending and advertising are now offenses. No Mongolian site language is offered.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and review

Reviewed against the sources below on 11 September 2026. Regulation changes; confirm the current position with local counsel before launch.

• Mongolia bans online gambling, betting, and paid lotteries — Montsame (Mongolian National News Agency), accessed 2026-09-11
• State Great Khural bans all paid prediction, betting, and online gambling — Montsame (Mongolian National News Agency), accessed 2026-09-11
• Draft Law on Casino submitted to the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia — State Great Khural of Mongolia, accessed 2026-09-11
• Hospitality and tourism – Khushigt Valley free economic zone and the draft Law on Casinos — Investment and Trade Agency of Mongolia, accessed 2026-09-11
• Mongolian parliament approves sweeping gambling ban — NEXT.io, accessed 2026-09-11

Regulatory summaries are provided for orientation only and are not legal advice. Licensing requirements change; we validate them with you during scoping.