TLDR
- Azerbaijan’s National Assembly passed the first reading of a bill toughening penalties for illegal gambling, including online betting.
- Fixed fines of AZN10,000 to AZN15,000 would be replaced with fines of up to twice the illegal proceeds earned.
- Non-repeat offenders could still face restriction of liberty or imprisonment for 2 to 4 years.
- Repeat offenders would face mandatory prison terms of 5 to 8 years, removing the option of a non-prison sentence.
- The bill must still pass further stages in parliament before becoming law.
Azerbaijan’s parliament has taken a step toward tougher punishment for illegal gambling. The National Assembly held an extraordinary session and passed the first reading of a bill that would change how the country’s Criminal Code handles the issue.
The bill focuses on illegal gambling operations, including those run online. Lawmakers want to update the penalties tied to running or organizing these activities.
How the New Fines Would Work
Right now, courts can only issue fixed fines. These range from AZN10,000 to AZN15,000, no matter how much money an illegal operation actually made.
The new bill would change that. Instead of a fixed number, courts could fine offenders up to twice the amount of illegal proceeds they collected.
This means larger illegal operations could face much bigger fines than smaller ones. The fine would scale with the size of the crime.
The bill does not remove other forms of punishment. Restriction of liberty and prison time would still be options for first-time offenders.
Under the proposed changes, those penalties would stay at 2 to 4 years. This applies to people convicted of organizing or running illegal gambling activity for the first time.
Tougher Rules for Repeat Offenders
The bill also targets people who commit these crimes more than once. Current law allows judges to choose between restriction of liberty or prison time for repeat offenders.
That choice would disappear under the new bill. Judges would be required to hand down prison sentences instead.
The current range for repeat offenses is 4 to 5 years of restricted liberty, or 4 to 8 years in prison. The new bill would set a mandatory prison term of 5 to 8 years for repeat offenders.
This removes the lighter sentencing option entirely for people who reoffend. It also raises the low end of the prison term compared to current law.
Lawmakers appear focused on stopping people from returning to illegal gambling after a first offense. The mandatory prison sentence structure is meant to make repeat violations more costly.
What Happens Next
The bill has only passed its first reading in the National Assembly. This is an early stage in Azerbaijan’s legislative process.
Additional votes and reviews are needed before the bill can become law. It is not yet clear when the next stage of review will take place.
If passed in its current form, the changes would apply broadly to both online and offline illegal gambling operations. The fine structure and mandatory prison terms for repeat offenders would represent a change from the current system.
Authorities have not given a timeline for when the bill might complete the full legislative process. The National Assembly has not announced a date for the next reading.
