Maldives Government Submits Bill to Make Gambling a Crime

The Maldivian government has submitted a bill to Parliament that would make gambling a criminal offence, The Edition reported on 10 December 2025¹.

The announcement

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced on X that the government had submitted amendments to the Penal Code making gambling, and operating a gambling establishment, criminal offences¹.

The bill was forwarded to Parliament, but its details had not been released when the announcement was made¹. The Penal Code in force is Law No. 9/2014².

Targeting both gambling and the operation of gambling establishments means the proposal is aimed at participants as well as providers. That marks a shift from the earlier focus on restricting access to websites.

Background

Attorney General Ahmed Usham had previously said the government intended to update legislation to curb gambling and betting carried out through websites and mobile apps. He said gambling had become increasingly widespread in the Maldives and required legal reform¹.

In coverage published on 31 October 2024, Usham told a press conference at the President's Office: "We will bring the necessary amendments to the law to ban this."³

The government had already moved against online gambling before the bill. In July 2024 the Communications Authority of Maldives began blocking online betting sites on police orders⁴.

The Edition noted that the use of online gambling and betting platforms had grown in recent years, with promotion spreading through Telegram and social media¹.

What came next

In January 2026 The Edition reported the bill's details: gambling would be a fourth-degree offence with a standard sentence of one year, seven months and six days in prison, and operating a gambling establishment would include online platforms⁵. We cover those details in our report on the proposed jail terms.