Casino and Gambling Laws in the Maldives

This page sets out the legal framework for gambling in the Maldives as far as it can be verified from official sources and dated news reports. Where the record is incomplete, we say so.

The legal foundations

The Constitution of the Maldives states that Islam is the religion of the State and one of the bases of all its laws, and that no law contrary to any tenet of Islam may be enacted¹. Reporting on the 2024 blocking of betting sites noted that Islamic principles prohibit games involving wagers and gambling².

The Penal Code is Law No. 9/2014³. The government's bill would amend it to create specific offences for gambling and for operating a gambling establishment⁴.

KiraBet has not been able to review an authoritative English text showing how laws in force before the amendment treat gambling, so this page does not describe that earlier position in detail. We have also found no Maldivian authority that licenses casinos or online gambling.

Enforcement so far

Website blocking

In July 2024 the Communications Authority of Maldives (CAM) began blocking online betting sites on police orders. CAM Chief Executive Ilyas Ahmed confirmed the action but did not say how many sites were involved⁵. An Assistant Commissioner of Police said three to four sites had been identified and blocked⁶.

The move followed CAM's earlier action, begun in late 2023, to block pornographic websites⁵.

Some banks have also taken measures to block transactions related to gambling websites, according to The Maldives Journal⁷.

Blocking is an enforcement measure rather than a statement of the law. It restricts access to particular sites; it does not by itself create an offence or tell readers what penalties apply.

Banking restrictions

Payments have been a second enforcement route. Bank of Maldives said in 2020 it was disabling the use of its cards for online transactions on gambling, online trading and cryptocurrency websites, and that it had informed the Maldives Monetary Authority⁸.

How the different payment routes behave when money has to be recovered is covered in our payments risk explainer.

Official statements

In a press conference at the President's Office, reported on 31 October 2024, Attorney General Ahmed Usham said of online betting: "We will bring the necessary amendments to the law to ban this."⁹ The same report noted that online betting through Telegram groups and social media platforms had become common in the country⁹.

In December 2025 President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced on X that the government had submitted a bill criminalising gambling⁴. The Attorney General had earlier said gambling had become increasingly widespread and required legal reform, including gambling and betting carried out through websites and mobile apps⁴. For the app side, see app store rules on gambling apps.

The Penal Code amendment bill

What it would criminalise

The bill would make two things criminal offences: gambling, and operating a gambling establishment⁴. Operating a gambling establishment expressly includes online gambling platforms and businesses¹⁰. What those platforms are, and why an offshore site leaves a user with no regulator to complain to, is explained in our page on online casinos and Maldivian users.

In other words, the proposal reaches both the people who gamble and those who provide gambling.

How gambling is defined

As reported by The Edition, the bill defines gambling as giving up something of value through a game, tournament, scheme or event in exchange for a specific and determinable outcome, whether carried out in person or electronically¹⁰.

Penalties

Gambling would be a fourth-degree offence. The standard sentence would be one year, seven months and six days in prison, within a range of four months and 24 days to four years¹⁰.

The coverage we reviewed did not set out separate penalties for operating a gambling establishment, so we do not state any here.

Exemptions

The bill, as reported, excludes¹⁰:

• prize competitions held for entertainment or sport;
• lotteries where entry is free and winners are chosen by draw;
• devices designed for sporting purposes, where tokens or symbols represent prizes.

Who submitted it

The Edition reported that Hithadhoo Central MP Ahmed Azan submitted the amendment, and that President Muizzu had previously announced the government's submission of the bill¹⁰.

Current status

Reporting confirms that the bill was submitted. KiraBet has not found an official record or reliable report that the People's Majlis has passed it or that the President has ratified it.

For reference, the President's Office describes how an earlier Penal Code amendment was passed by Parliament, ratified, and took effect on publication in the Government Gazette³. A gambling amendment would need to complete the same steps before it applies.

Key developments

What remains unclear

• Whether the bill has passed the People's Majlis, been changed at committee stage, or been ratified.
• The final wording of the definition, the exemptions and the penalties.
• Whether operating a gambling establishment would carry a different penalty from gambling.
• How many sites have been blocked in total. CAM has not published a figure⁵.
• How any new offence would be applied to operators based outside the Maldives.

We will update this page when a reliable source answers any of these questions.

Out-of-date claims to watch for

Websites that promote gambling sometimes describe the Maldives as a country where online gambling goes unenforced, or where regulation is about to open up. Those descriptions do not match the verified record.

Police-ordered blocking of betting sites has been in place since July 2024⁵, and the government's legislative response has been to propose criminal offences for gambling and for operating gambling platforms, not a licensing system⁴. A licence issued by a regulator in another country does not change Maldivian law.

The same habit of confident, unsourced assertion shows up elsewhere in gambling marketing; our guide to spotting unsafe gambling sites lists the checks that catch it.

How to check the current law

• People's Majlis (majlis.gov.mv) publishes bills and the parliamentary stage each has reached¹¹.
• The President's Office (presidency.gov.mv) issues press releases when the President ratifies an act³.
• The Attorney General's Office runs MVLAW (mvlaw.gov.mv), a repository of consolidated Maldivian laws and regulations, including amendments, in Dhivehi and English¹².
• Dated reports from established Maldivian news outlets, checked against the official sources above.

When you read a claim about Maldivian gambling law elsewhere, check its date and whether it cites one of these sources. Many sites that promote gambling publish confident legal summaries with no sources at all. We follow the same sources across other jurisdictions in our regulation section.

For how the bill fits into the wider response, see our overview of online gambling in the Maldives. If gambling itself has become difficult to control, our page on gambling harm support in the Maldives sets out where to turn.