Mongolia Enacts Comprehensive Ban on Gambling with Focus on Regulating Sports Betting

Extensive Ban on Gambling Activities Enacted in Mongolia

Mongolia’s Parliament has enacted major amendments to its Law on Licensing, imposing restrictions that effectively ban nearly all forms of gambling nationwide. This decisive legislative change aims to strengthen Mongolia’s economic stability, though the government’s approach to regulating offshore online gambling remains uncertain.

Strict Prohibitions on Organizing and Promoting Gambling

The new regulations outlaw paid prediction games, betting, and all online gambling activities. Engaging in the organization of such gambling, whether publicly or online for profit, now constitutes a criminal offense under Mongolia’s Criminal Code. Penalties for offenders include hefty fines, community service ranging from 240 to 720 hours, travel limitations for up to one year, and imprisonment from six months to three years.

Repeat offenders using payment methods such as electronic money, virtual assets, phone numbers, or digital IDs—either theirs or borrowed—to operate illegal gambling platforms face doubled fines along with the same community service, travel bans, and potential jail time of up to one year.

The law also bans promotion and advertising of gambling activities. Those involved in soliciting or marketing gambling services can expect administrative penalties such as fines in line with the Law on Administrative Violations. However, individual players partaking in gambling do not currently face penalties under this legislation.

Potential for Separate Regulation of Sports Betting

Officials justify the crackdown as a necessary measure to prevent currency outflow and enhance economic security. Despite this, enforcing these restrictions may prove difficult since Mongolian players can readily access offshore gambling operators via mobile platforms, which have historically been hard to regulate.

While general gambling is banned, Mongolia is moving forward with a separate legal framework established earlier in the year to regulate and legalize sports wagering. This approach aims to protect consumers from fraud and harm by consolidating parts of the betting market under government oversight, providing a legitimate option for bettors.

This new legislation marks the end of unregulated online casinos and independent betting shops operating with impunity in Mongolia. The effectiveness of these measures will become clearer in the coming months as authorities tackle black market operations while managing a controlled sports betting sector.