Bangladesh prepares nationwide crackdown on gambling and online betting after parliament session

Bangladesh’s government says it will launch a coordinated nationwide drive against gambling, online gambling and related criminal activity after the current parliamentary session, signalling a tougher enforcement phase aimed especially at protecting young people.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed told parliament on April 27 that the government had adopted a “zero tolerance” position on gambling, online gambling and drugs and that a nationwide coordinated operation would begin once the parliamentary session ended on April 30. He made the statement while responding to an urgent parliamentary notice that also raised concerns about illegal shisha lounges operating under the cover of restaurants and cafés in upscale areas of Dhaka.

The timing is now significant because Bangladesh Parliament’s official site shows that the first session of 2026 was prorogued on April 30 and that no upcoming sessions are currently listed. That means the political timetable referenced by the home minister has now effectively passed, even though the government has not yet published a detailed operational breakdown of which agencies will lead the post-session raids or what sequence of measures will be prioritised first.

The minister framed the planned campaign as a youth-protection issue as much as a law-and-order measure. In parliament, he said there was “no alternative” to saving young people from gambling, online gambling and drug networks, while also alleging that some illegal nightlife and vice operations had survived through address changes or the tacit backing of certain officials. That language suggests the coming crackdown is intended to target not only visible venues, but also the protection networks that allow such businesses to continue operating.

The plan also fits into a wider enforcement trajectory already visible in Bangladesh. In May 2025, the Criminal Investigation Department launched a nationwide campaign against online gambling and betting under the Cyber Security Ordinance 2025, saying it had identified more than 1,000 mobile financial service agents allegedly involved in gambling-linked transactions. That earlier drive showed the state was already moving beyond physical gambling sites and toward the digital payment and platform infrastructure supporting the market.

Taken together, the latest parliamentary announcement suggests Bangladesh is preparing a broader second-stage enforcement push rather than an isolated raid cycle. If the post-April 30 operation is carried out as promised, the next phase is likely to focus on both physical vice locations and online gambling networks, with stronger coordination between police, narcotics authorities and financial enforcement bodies.