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Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye · Gulf

Online gambling in Saudi Arabia: regulation, licence and market guide

Prohibited Reviewed September 2026 Site language available

Saudi Arabia prohibits all gambling under Sharia, the basis of its legislation, and the Anti-Cyber Crime Law of 2007 punishes publishing or promoting gambling material online with up to five years in prison and a SAR 3 million fine.

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Regulator
CST, PP
Local licence for private operators
No
Operator tax
None; no lawful gambling operators exist.
Player tax
None; gambling proceeds are treated as unlawful and subject to confiscation.
Currency
Saudi riyal (SAR)
Languages
Arabic
Payment methods players use
mada debit cards, credit cards, bank transfer (SARIE), digital wallets
Last reviewed
September 2026

There is no gambling statute, regulator or licence in Saudi Arabia because gambling (maisir) is forbidden under Sharia, the basis of the Kingdom's legal system. The Anti-Cyber Crime Law issued by Royal Decree M/17 of 26 March 2007 makes the preparation, publication or promotion of material for gambling activities that violate public morals a cybercrime punishable by up to five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to SAR 3 million, with confiscation of equipment and funds and closure of the website. The Communications, Space and Technology Commission supports investigations and filters gambling sites, and the Public Prosecution brings charges. No reform is under discussion; the Kingdom's investment in video gaming and esports is unrelated to gambling.

VerticalStatus in Saudi Arabia
Online casinoProhibited
Sports bettingProhibited
Online pokerProhibited
LotteryProhibited
Social casino (free to play)Unclear

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

Who regulates gambling in Saudi Arabia?

  • Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) — Telecoms regulator that filters gambling websites and provides technical support to security authorities under Article 14 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law
  • Public Prosecution (PP) — Investigates and prosecutes offenses under the Anti-Cyber Crime Law, including gambling-related cybercrimes

Saudi Arabia gambling licence: how it works

There is no Saudi Arabia gambling licence and no authority that could issue one. Gambling is prohibited as a matter of Sharia rather than by a dedicated gambling act, and the 2007 Anti-Cyber Crime Law supplies the modern criminal provision for anything conducted online: Article 6(3) covers preparing, publishing or promoting gambling material, and the law allows courts to order confiscation of devices, software and proceeds and the permanent or temporary closure of the site. Because the prohibition is absolute, there is no distinction between casino, betting, poker or lottery and no tolerated category. A foreign operator has no application to make and no lawful basis to accept Saudi residents.

What an applicant needs

  • No licensing authority, application process or fee exists for any form of gambling
  • Publishing or promoting gambling material online is a cybercrime under Article 6(3) of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law
  • Courts may order confiscation of equipment and funds and closure of offending websites
Licence cost
No licence exists.
Duration
Not applicable.
Local entity required
Not specified
Processing time
Not applicable.

Gambling taxes in Saudi Arabia

  • Operators: None; no lawful gambling operators exist.
  • Players: None; gambling proceeds are treated as unlawful and subject to confiscation.

Advertising, player protection, KYC and payments

Advertising

Any advertising or promotion of gambling, including affiliate content and influencer posts, falls under Article 6(3) of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law; a court may also order the summary of a conviction published at the offender's expense.

Responsible gaming

Not applicable; there is no lawful gambling market.

Identity and age verification

Not applicable to gambling. Banks apply Saudi Central Bank AML rules that treat gambling-related transfers as prohibited activity.

Payments

No bank, payment service provider or card scheme in the Kingdom may lawfully process gambling transactions; the national payment network does not authorize gambling merchant codes and suspicious transfers are reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit.

Notable restrictions

  • All gambling is prohibited under Sharia; no casino, betting, poker or lottery product is lawful
  • Preparing, publishing or promoting gambling material online: up to five years in prison and a fine of up to SAR 3 million (Anti-Cyber Crime Law, Article 6)
  • Confiscation of devices, software and proceeds and closure of websites used for the offense
  • Non-nationals convicted of offenses may face deportation after sentence
  • Gambling websites are filtered at national level by the CST

Saudi Arabia iGaming market: size, players and payments

No reliable public estimate; there is no legal market and no official data on unlawful online play.

Smartphone penetration is near universal, which is why enforcement focuses on filtering and on prosecuting online promotion.

No licensed operators. Enforcement is shared by the Ministry of Interior, the Public Prosecution and the CST.

What players play
footballesports and video gaming (non-gambling)horse and camel racing without bettingcard games played socially
How they pay
mada debit cardscredit cardsbank transfer (SARIE)digital wallets

Timeline: how Saudi Arabia got here

  1. 1992Basic Law of Governance confirms the Quran and Sunnah as the constitution and Sharia as the basis of legislation
  2. 2007-03Anti-Cyber Crime Law (Royal Decree M/17) criminalizes publishing or promoting gambling material online
  3. 2022-09National Gaming and Esports Strategy launched; video gaming promoted, gambling remains prohibited
  4. 2025Trade press reports Saudi action against affiliates promoting unlicensed gambling to residents; CST filtering continues

Outlook

No change is expected. Saudi Arabia's investment in video gaming, esports and tourism does not extend to gambling, and there is no public proposal to create a regulator or licence. Enforcement will continue through CST filtering, Public Prosecution cases under the Anti-Cyber Crime Law and banking controls on gambling-related payments.

GameBridge and Saudi Arabia

Not served by GameBridge. Saudi Arabia prohibits all gambling and criminalizes its online promotion, so GameBridge brands exclude the Kingdom by default; this page exists so compliance teams can verify the position quickly.

Saudi Arabia is on the default exclusion list of every GameBridge brand: geo-controls block Saudi IP ranges and registrations, Saudi identity documents are rejected at onboarding, and the riyal is not offered as a wallet currency. The Arabic site language remains available for brands in other markets where the operator's counsel has confirmed that residents may be served. Marketing tooling is configured so that no campaign, affiliate link or notification targets Saudi users. GameBridge offers no configuration that targets players in Saudi Arabia.

Frequently asked questions

Is online gambling legal in Saudi Arabia?
No. Gambling of every kind is prohibited under Sharia, which the Basic Law makes the basis of legislation, and there is no regulator or licence. The Anti-Cyber Crime Law of 2007 makes preparing, publishing or promoting gambling material online a crime punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to SAR 3 million, and gambling websites are filtered at national level.
Can a company get a Saudi Arabia gambling licence?
No. There is no gambling statute, no licensing authority and no application process for casinos, sports betting, poker or lotteries. The prohibition is absolute rather than a matter of missing regulation, so a foreign operator has no lawful basis to accept Saudi residents and anyone promoting such a service to them is exposed under the Anti-Cyber Crime Law.
What is the penalty for gambling in Saudi Arabia?
Article 6 of the Anti-Cyber Crime Law punishes preparing, publishing or promoting gambling material that violates public morals with up to five years' imprisonment and a fine of up to SAR 3 million, or either penalty, and courts may confiscate devices and proceeds, close the website and publish the judgment at the offender's expense. Participation is dealt with under Sharia-based criminal law, and non-nationals may be deported.
Is esports or video gaming affected by the gambling ban?
No. Saudi Arabia actively promotes video gaming and esports through its National Gaming and Esports Strategy and hosts major tournaments, and playing or streaming video games is lawful. The prohibition applies to wagering money or other value on outcomes of chance, including betting on esports matches, which remains unlawful.
Does GameBridge serve operators targeting Saudi Arabia?
No. Saudi Arabia is excluded by default through geo-controls, document checks, wallet configuration and campaign controls because all gambling is prohibited. The Arabic site language is available for brands in other markets where counsel confirms residents may be served. See the MENA and Türkiye market page for the regional picture.

Sources and review

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

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

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