The draft ‘Gambling Prevention Act-2023’ is going to be finalised tomorrow with a provision of highest five-year imprisonment and Tk10 lakh fine or both for online gambling.

The draft law, which will replace the ‘Public Gambling Act-1867, has included online betting, and match and spot fixing among other points as gambling.

An inter-ministerial meeting will be held at the Ministry of Home Affairs at 11:00am tomorrow with Senior Secretary of Public Security Division Mustafizur Rahman in the chair to finalise the draft law.

A notice has already been sent to the cabinet secretary, five senior secretaries and eight secretaries of different ministries and inspector general of police (IGP) seeking their participation in the meeting.

The section 4 of the law states that if anybody commits crimes, which are stated in the proposed law, abroad, he/she can be tried at home considering that the crime is committed at home.

The section 27 states that the offences under the law will be cognisable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.

Once the new law is enacted, all cities, including Dhaka, and municipalities will for the first time come within the jurisdiction of any gambling law.

The existing Public Gambling Act-1867 extended to the whole of Bangladesh except city and municipality areas.

Former IGP AKM Shahidul Haque described the new law as a good one as it will bring city and municipality areas within the ambit of any gambling law for the first time.

Prof Dr Jamila A Chowdhury of the Department of Law at Dhaka University told the Daily Sun that a good side of the draft law is the inclusion of online gambling as such crime is being committed most than the in-person one.

She said a speedy trial tribunal should be introduced for the trial of the gambling cases once the law is in place as such crimes cause moral degradation.

According to section 2(4) of the draft law, the gambling means all kinds of betting, housie, lottery, financially risky game, match or spot fixing, online gambling and distant gambling.

As per the section 5, football, cricket, kabaddi, volleyball, athletics and boxing games, boat race, different other races, card playing, indoor games and other games will be considered as gambling if those turn financially risky beyond a tool of entertainment without government’s permission.

The horse race, cockfight, bullfight and such other animal fights are offences as per the Animal Welfare Act-2019. And if such fights and races have elements of financial risk, those will be offences under the draft Gambling Prevention Act-23.

The section 6 deals with online and distant gambling. If anybody takes part in gambling or persuades anyone to take part in it through internet, television, telephone, radio and other electronic devices, it will be considered online betting and offences.  

The offender can be sentenced to highest five years’ imprisonment or fined Tk10 lakh or both.

As per the section 7, any prize for solution to puzzle will be an offence while the section 8 states that betting on any game or issue will be a punishable offence and the offender can land in jail for three years or Tk5 lakh can be fined or both.

The sections 9 and 10 deal with match fixing and spot fixing, which carries a three-year imprisonment or Tk5 lakh fine or both for the former and two-year imprisonment or Tk2 lakh fine for the latter.

The section 18 stipulates a two-year imprisonment or Tk2 lakh fine for housie.

Not more than five years of jail or Tk10 lakh or both can be given to a gambling organiser.

Bookmaker can be sentenced to two years in jail or fined Tk2 lakh under the section 20.

The punishment will be double for the recurrence of offence and mobile court can be operated against such offences.