TLDR
- Egypt’s parliament is drafting amendments to its Cybercrime Law to explicitly ban online betting apps
- Penalties could reach life imprisonment in the most serious cases involving organised crime
- Around 80% of online betting apps are already being blocked, including 1xBet and MelBet
- A three-tier penalty structure proposed by MP Martha Mahrous targets operators, agents, and payment facilitators
- VPN access and liability for payment providers remain unresolved in current drafts
Egypt is preparing some of the toughest online betting laws in the Middle East. Parliament is drafting amendments to the Cybercrime Law that would explicitly criminalise online betting apps and the financial networks behind them.
The country has banned gambling for its own citizens for decades. But those laws were written for physical venues. They never addressed online betting directly, leaving a legal gap that offshore sportsbooks have used to reach Egyptian users.
Many Egyptians currently access foreign betting platforms through VPNs and overseas payment channels. Existing laws have no specific provisions targeting these digital routes, and that gap has drawn years of complaints from parliament.
What the New Law Could Look Like
In May 2026, Ahmed Badawi, chair of the House Communications and Information Technology Committee, confirmed the government is preparing amendments that would name electronic gambling explicitly.
The penalties being discussed are severe. In the most serious cases — those involving organised criminal networks and large-scale fraud — maximum sentences could reach life imprisonment.
A separate bill tabled by MP Martha Mahrous in January 2025 offers the clearest picture of how penalties might be structured. Her draft sets out three tiers.
Agents and managers acting for bettors would face two to five years in prison and fines between EGP1 million and EGP5 million. Payment facilitators could face up to six months in prison and fines of EGP50,000 to EGP200,000. Those running or sponsoring platforms face two to five years and fines from EGP5 million to EGP10 million.
Badawi confirmed the government is writing its own version rather than adopting the Mahrous text directly. The two proposals are not identical but show the committee is working on parallel tracks.
Blocking Campaign Already Underway
Egypt hasn’t waited for new legislation to act. The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority and the Supreme Council for Media Regulation are already working to block around 80% of online betting apps.
Russian-licensed 1xBet, which had promoted itself heavily in Egypt through influencers and social media, was removed from Google Play and the App Store in September 2024. MelBet is also being targeted in a broader takedown of betting apps.
Badawi has stated that blocked apps will not be allowed to return and that new legislation is being written to close the loopholes that let them grow.
Several questions remain unanswered. Current drafts do not clearly address how VPN access will be handled or how payment intermediaries will be held liable in practice. Fines for users who continue accessing banned apps have been raised in early drafts but no official text has been published.
As of late June 2026, the government’s cybercrime amendments have not appeared on the parliamentary agenda. Badawi had indicated the text would be submitted after Eid al-Adha in June, but no draft has been scheduled for debate.
