Is gambling legal in Afghanistan?

No. Article 66 of the Criminal Code of Courts, published on 14 March 2026, declares gambling in all its types and forms a sharia crime, and the 2024 Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice lists gambling among the vices its muhtasibs must prevent. There is no regulator or licence.

What is the penalty for gambling?

The judge must sentence the gambler to four months' imprisonment under article 66 of the Criminal Code of Courts. Muhtasibs of the vice and virtue ministry may also impose warnings, destruction of property or detention of up to three days under article 24 of the 2024 vice law.

Does the law cover online gambling and sports betting?

Neither current instrument names them, but article 66 covers gambling in all its types and forms. The 2017 Penal Code had a separate offence of gambling by use of cyberspace (article 872), but the Ministry of Justice database lists that code as repealed.

Is there a national lottery?

None was found. No instrument providing for a state or licensed lottery appears in the Ministry of Justice database, and the general prohibition in article 66 of the Criminal Code of Courts applies.

Who enforces the prohibition?

The vice and virtue ministry, which implements the 2024 vice law through its muhtasibs, the courts of the Islamic Emirate, which apply the Criminal Code of Courts, and the Ministry of Interior police, who regularly report arrests of gamblers.

Sovereign state

Asia

ISO AF

Afghanistan: gambling regulation and licensing

Online casinoProhibited
Online pokerProhibited
Online sports bettingProhibited
Horse race bettingProhibited
iLotteryProhibited
Prediction marketsProhibited
Land-based (reference)Prohibited

Regulator: Not yet verified
Headline tax: Not yet verified
Licence required: No
Last verified: 24 Sept 2026

Summary

Afghanistan prohibits gambling in every form. There is no regulator, no licence, no lottery and no gambling tax. The governing instruments are those of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban administration, published in the Official Gazette by the Ministry of Justice. The Criminal Code of Courts, approved by decree of the Amir al-Mu'minin and published on 14 March 2026, declares in article 66 that gambling in all its types and forms is a sharia crime and requires the judge to sentence the gambler to four months' imprisonment. Setting animals or birds to fight carries five months (article 70). The Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, published on 31 July 2024, lists gambling, creating the grounds and means for gambling, and animal fighting among the vices that the ministry's muhtasibs must prevent, and lets them punish offenders on the spot, from warnings to destruction of property and up to three days' detention, before referring persistent offenders to the courts. Neither instrument names online gambling, sports betting or lotteries, but both cover gambling in all its forms. The 2017 Penal Code, which fined public gambling, jailed those who ran gambling places and had a separate cyber gambling offence, is now listed as repealed in the Ministry of Justice database. Enforcement is visible in land-based cases: the Ministry of Interior regularly reports arrests of gamblers, such as 11 people detained in Faizabad in October 2025. No evidence of website or payment blocking against offshore operators was found.

Common pitfalls

Relying on the 2017 Penal Code: its gambling chapter (a fine for public gambling and short imprisonment for running a gambling place) and its cyber gambling article are listed as repealed, and the 2026 Criminal Code of Courts now sets four months' imprisonment for any gambler. Assuming online play is outside the law because it is not named: art. 66 covers gambling in all its types and forms. Overlooking the vice law: muhtasibs can punish and detain without a court under art. 24 of the 2024 law.

Key facts

Regulator: Not yet verified
Regulator type: No dedicated regulator
Headline tax: Not yet verified
Licence required: No
Minimum age: Not yet verified
Tax base: No gambling tax exists because no gambling is lawful. The 2017 Penal Code provided for confiscation of the money and instruments of gambling (art. 693); the Criminal Code of Courts 2026 prohibits punishment by taking property but allows a judge to order destruction of property (art. 12).

Legal framework

Primary statutes

Criminal Code of Courts (Usulnama-ye Jaza'i-ye Mahakem)
اصولنامۀ جزایی محاکم
Year
2026
In force
Yes
Summary
Approved by Decree No. 12 of the Amir al-Mu'minin of 15 Rajab 1447 AH and published in Official Gazette No. 1486 on 14 March 2026; 119 articles, in force from signature (art. 119), applied by the courts of the Islamic Emirate (art. 3). Art. 66: gambling in all its types and forms is a sharia crime and the judge shall sentence the gambler to four months' imprisonment. Art. 70: setting animals (dogs, camels, sheep and the like) or birds (cocks, partridges, quails) to fight carries five months' imprisonment. Art. 12: ta'zir by taking property is prohibited, but the judge may order destruction of property or the withholding of immovable property. Art. 119 also declares void every procedure (usulnama) not approved by the Amir al-Mu'minin.
Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
قانون امر بالمعروف و نهی عن المنکر
Year
2024
In force
Yes
Summary
Approved by Decree No. 1 of 3 Muharram 1446 AH and published in Official Gazette No. 1452 on 31 July 2024; 35 articles in four chapters, applying to all institutions, public places and persons residing in Afghanistan (art. 4), implemented by the vice and virtue ministry (art. 5). Art. 22 lists the specific vices muhtasibs must prevent, including (6) gambling, with examples such as egg fighting, knucklebones and walnut games, (7) creating the grounds and means for gambling, and (8) setting dogs, cocks, quails, partridges and other animals and birds to fight. Art. 24 sets the muhtasib's punishments: advice, warning, threats, destruction of property, detention from one hour to 24 hours or from one to three days in public jails, or any other punishment not reserved to the courts. Offenders who do not reform are referred to the courts (arts. 25(3) and 26(7)).
Penal Code (2017)
کود جزا
Year
2017
In force
No
Summary
Published in Official Gazette No. 1260 on 15 May 2017. Chapter 10 on gambling and its penalties: gambling in a public place or a place open to the public, a fine of AFN 10,000 to 30,000 (art. 691); preparing a place or house for gambling or organising gambling there, short imprisonment (art. 692); confiscation of money, tools and instruments of gambling (art. 693). Art. 872: gambling by use of cyberspace attracts confiscation of the proceeds and the gambling penalty, plus the money laundering penalty where done to launder money. The Ministry of Justice database now lists the code as repealed.

Secondary instruments

Procedure of the boards for the implementation of the Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice
طرزالعمل هیئت های تنفیذ قانون امر بالمعروف و نهی عن المنکر
Year
2025
In force
Yes
Summary
Published in Official Gazette No. 1474 on 27 August 2025. Sets out how implementation boards explain the vice law: gatherings in districts and zones, sessions with chambers of commerce, companies and unions, seminars for muhtasibs, and cooperation with religious scholars, education institutions and physical education directorates.

Key amendments

31 Jul 2024Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice published, listing gambling, creating the grounds for gambling and animal fighting among the vices muhtasibs must prevent (art. 22).
14 Mar 2026Criminal Code of Courts published, fixing four months' imprisonment for gambling in all its forms (art. 66).

Licensing

Licence required: No
Application window: Closed
Local establishment required: Not yet verified
Local server required: Not yet verified
Barriers to entry: There is nothing to apply for. Gambling in all its types and forms is a sharia crime under art. 66 of the Criminal Code of Courts 2026, and creating the grounds and means for gambling is a vice the vice and virtue ministry must prevent under art. 22(7) of the 2024 vice law. No licensing, lottery or concession instrument was found in the Ministry of Justice database.

Taxation

Headline GGR tax: Not yet verified
Effective date: Not yet verified
Tax base: No gambling tax exists because no gambling is lawful. The 2017 Penal Code provided for confiscation of the money and instruments of gambling (art. 693); the Criminal Code of Courts 2026 prohibits punishment by taking property but allows a judge to order destruction of property (art. 12).

Advertising

Advertising permitted: Not yet verified
Penalties for breach: Muhtasib punishments under art. 24 of the 2024 vice law, from advice and warnings to destruction of property and detention of up to three days, with referral to the courts for those who do not reform.

Restrictions

No provision names gambling advertising. Art. 22(7) of the 2024 vice law makes creating the grounds and means for gambling a vice that muhtasibs must prevent
Art. 17(1) of the 2024 vice law requires muhtasibs to make media officials ensure that nothing they publish is contrary to sharia and the madhhab (school of law)

Enforcement

ISP blocking: Not yet verified
DNS blocking: Not yet verified
Payment blocking: Not yet verified
App store takedowns: Not yet verified
Administrative penalties: Muhtasibs of the vice and virtue ministry may impose advice, a warning of divine punishment, verbal threats, destruction of property, detention from one hour to 24 hours or from one to three days in public jails, or another punishment not reserved to the courts (vice law 2024, art. 24(1)); heads of zones and districts may impose only items 4 to 7 of that list, in consultation with the relevant head (art. 25(2)).
Criminal penalties: Four months' imprisonment for a gambler (Criminal Code of Courts 2026, art. 66); five months for setting animals or birds to fight (art. 70). Under the 2017 Penal Code, now listed as repealed, gambling in public carried a fine of AFN 10,000 to 30,000 and running a gambling place short imprisonment.
Operator liability: The Criminal Code of Courts 2026 does not set a separate offence for running a gambling venue: art. 66 punishes gambling in all its types and forms, and art. 22(7) of the 2024 vice law targets anyone creating the grounds and means for gambling. The 2017 Penal Code punished preparing a place for gambling with short imprisonment (art. 692).
Player liability: Players are liable: the judge must sentence the gambler to four months' imprisonment (Criminal Code of Courts 2026, art. 66), and muhtasibs may punish and detain them under art. 24 of the 2024 vice law.

Notable actions

Residents of Maidan Wardak province during Eid8 May 2022
The vice and virtue ministry reported that at meetings held before Eid al-Fitr (the text is dated 28 Ramadan 1443), officials in Maidan Wardak said fireworks, animal fighting and gambling during Eid were banned and that those who took part would face legal action
Gamblers in Baghlan and Takhar provinces22 Jan 2024
Ministry of Interior reported the arrest of nine gamblers in Baghlan and four in Takhar among 36 people detained in 12 provinces
Gamblers in Samangan province15 Jul 2024
Ministry of Interior reported the arrest of seven gamblers in Samangan among 30 people detained in 11 provinces over 24 hours
Gamblers in Faizabad, Badakhshan province11 Oct 2025
Police of the Badakhshan security command detained 11 people for gambling, drug use and disturbing public order in the seventh district of Faizabad, to be handed to the judicial authorities after initial investigation

Timeline

15 May 2017
Penal Code published in Official Gazette No. 1260, with a chapter on gambling (arts. 691 to 693) and a cyber gambling offence (art. 872); now listed as repealed
8 May 2022
Vice and virtue ministry reports that officials in Maidan Wardak banned gambling and animal fighting during Eid al-Fitr
31 Jul 2024
Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice published in Official Gazette No. 1452; gambling listed among prohibited vices in art. 22
27 Aug 2025
Procedure for the vice law implementation boards published in Official Gazette No. 1474
11 Oct 2025
Ministry of Interior reports 11 people detained for gambling in Faizabad, Badakhshan
14 Mar 2026
Criminal Code of Courts published in Official Gazette No. 1486; art. 66 sets four months' imprisonment for gambling in all its forms

Outlook

No bill, consultation or licensing process that would change the prohibition was found in the Ministry of Justice database, which lists the Criminal Code of Courts of March 2026 as the most recent instrument on gambling. The direction is consolidation of sharia-based penalties and wider outreach on the vice law, for which implementation boards were given a procedure in August 2025.

Frequently asked questions

Is gambling legal in Afghanistan?: No. Article 66 of the Criminal Code of Courts, published on 14 March 2026, declares gambling in all its types and forms a sharia crime, and the 2024 Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice lists gambling among the vices its muhtasibs must prevent. There is no regulator or licence.
What is the penalty for gambling?: The judge must sentence the gambler to four months' imprisonment under article 66 of the Criminal Code of Courts. Muhtasibs of the vice and virtue ministry may also impose warnings, destruction of property or detention of up to three days under article 24 of the 2024 vice law.
Does the law cover online gambling and sports betting?: Neither current instrument names them, but article 66 covers gambling in all its types and forms. The 2017 Penal Code had a separate offence of gambling by use of cyberspace (article 872), but the Ministry of Justice database lists that code as repealed.
Is there a national lottery?: None was found. No instrument providing for a state or licensed lottery appears in the Ministry of Justice database, and the general prohibition in article 66 of the Criminal Code of Courts applies.
Who enforces the prohibition?: The vice and virtue ministry, which implements the 2024 vice law through its muhtasibs, the courts of the Islamic Emirate, which apply the Criminal Code of Courts, and the Ministry of Interior police, who regularly report arrests of gamblers.

Sources

Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, with Decree No. 1 of the Amir al-Mu'minin of 3 Muharram 1446 AH, Official Gazette No. 1452 of 31 July 2024 (10 Asad 1403)
Ministry of Justice, Official Gazette (retrieved from the Ministry of Justice database of Afghanistan laws and decrees, laws.moj.gov.af) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 31 Jul 2024
Criminal Code of Courts (Usulnama-ye Jaza'i-ye Mahakem), with Decree No. 12 of the Amir al-Mu'minin of 15 Rajab 1447 AH, Official Gazette No. 1486 of 14 March 2026 (23 Hut 1404)
Ministry of Justice, Official Gazette (retrieved from the Ministry of Justice database of Afghanistan laws and decrees, laws.moj.gov.af) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 14 Mar 2026
Penal Code (Kod-e Jaza), extraordinary issue, Official Gazette No. 1260 of 15 May 2017 (25 Sawr 1396), Articles 691 to 693 and 872
Ministry of Justice, Official Gazette (retrieved from the Ministry of Justice database of Afghanistan laws and decrees, laws.moj.gov.af) (translated)
The Ministry of Justice legislation database lists this code, and its 2018 and 2020 amendments, with the status "repealed" (ملغی). No instrument expressly repealing it was found; the Criminal Code of Courts of 2026 now sets the punishment for gambling. The code is kept for history and for its cyber gambling provision.
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 15 May 2017
Procedure of the boards for the implementation of the Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, Official Gazette No. 1474 of 27 August 2025 (3 Rabi al-Awwal 1447)
Ministry of Justice, Official Gazette (retrieved from the Ministry of Justice database of Afghanistan laws and decrees, laws.moj.gov.af) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 27 Aug 2025
Database of Afghanistan laws and decrees (Dari list): status entries for the Penal Code 2017 (repealed), the Law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (in force) and the Criminal Code of Courts (in force)
Ministry of Justice (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026
11 people detained in connection with gambling in the centre of Badakhshan province
Ministry of Interior Affairs (moi.gov.af) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 11 Oct 2025
30 people detained in the past 24 hours in 11 provinces in connection with theft, murder, gambling, possession of illegal weapons and other crimes
Ministry of Interior Affairs (moi.gov.af) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 15 Jul 2024
36 people detained in 12 provinces in connection with theft, murder, gambling, possession of illegal weapons and other crimes
Ministry of Interior Affairs (moi.gov.af) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 22 Jan 2024
Use of firecrackers and animal fighting on the days of Eid banned in Maidan Wardak province
Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue, Prevention of Vice and Hearing of Complaints (mopvpe.gov.af) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 8 May 2022
Support of the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue for athletes (Maidan Wardak)
Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue, Prevention of Vice and Hearing of Complaints (mopvpe.gov.af) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 16 Mar 2022