Is gambling legal in Iran?

No. Articles 705 to 711 of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code, rewritten in 2023, make gambling, betting and lotteries criminal offences in physical and virtual space. There is no regulator and no licence.

Is online sports betting with offshore sites legal for Iranian players?

No. Art. 705 punishes any person who enters an agreement to win or lose or joins others in predicting an event where the loser pays, online or offline. Players forfeit stakes and winnings and face a degree 6 fine or one to three times the proceeds, whichever is greater.

What are the penalties for running a gambling site?

Degree 6 imprisonment, rising to degree 5 imprisonment (over two to five years) with confiscation and a fine of two to five times the proceeds where money was made, and a ban from payment and communication services. Professionals, organised groups and large sums face degree 4 imprisonment (over five to ten years), and penalties rise one degree where cryptocurrency is used.

Is there a lottery or any exemption?

No lawful lottery exists: art. 705(3) covers draws and games of chance, and the 1969 tourist-centre lottery law was repealed in 2023. The only exemption covers prizes paid between participants in horse riding, shooting, fencing and military equipment contests held in person.

Can gambling be advertised or promoted?

No. Promoting gambling or inviting people to take part is punished by degree 7 imprisonment and fine under art. 709(2), with any earnings confiscated. The Tehran FATA police arrested two Instagram bloggers for promoting betting sites in February 2025.

How are payments to gambling sites blocked?

Courts bar operators from payment gateways, bank cards and other services, lending an account to a gambling site is an offence, and banks must report gambling traffic. The judiciary said in June 2026 that more than 35,000 accounts and 1,250 gateways had been blocked over five years.

← Back to the regulatory map

Sovereign state

Asia

ISO IR

Iran: gambling regulation and licensing

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

Regulator: Not yet verified
Headline tax: See Taxation
Licence required: No
Last verified: 23 Sept 2026

Summary

Iran prohibits gambling, betting and lotteries in every form, online and offline. There is no regulator, no licence and no gambling tax, and Article 49 of the Constitution obliges the state to seize wealth derived from gambling. The criminal law is Chapter 28 of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code of 1996, whose Articles 705 to 711 were rewritten by a law passed by the Majlis on 22 February 2023 and confirmed by the Guardian Council on 4 March 2023. The amended Article 705 makes it an offence for anyone, in physical or virtual space, to enter an agreement to win or lose, to join others in predicting an event where the loser pays, or to take part in a draw or other game of chance, so players, prediction markets and lotteries are all covered. Players forfeit stakes and winnings and are fined. Running a physical or online gambling venue carries up to five years' imprisonment where money was made, and up to ten years for professionals, organised groups and large sums. Promoting gambling, lending a bank account or card to a gambling site and using cryptocurrency are punished separately, and banks and telecoms operators must report gambling on their services. The only exemption covers prizes paid between participants in horse riding, shooting, fencing and military equipment contests held in person, and the 1969 law allowing lotteries in tourist centres was repealed in 2023. Enforcement rests on the judiciary, the FATA cyber police and the Central Bank. In June 2026 the judiciary said more than 35,000 bank accounts and 1,250 payment gateways linked to gambling networks had been blocked over five years.

Common pitfalls

Relying on the pre-2023 text of Articles 705 to 711: the chapter was rewritten in 2023 and penalties now run in degrees under Article 19 of the 2013 Penal Code, with fine bands last raised in June 2024. Treating sports betting as outside the gambling offence: a 2019 Judiciary opinion said so under the old text, but the 2023 law covers betting, prediction and lotteries expressly. Reading Civil Code art. 655 as permitting horse race betting: it validates wagers in racing, shooting and swordsmanship, and the criminal exemption covers only payments between participants in contests held in person. Assuming players are safe: art. 705 punishes any person who takes part.

Key facts

Regulator: Not yet verified
Regulator type: No dedicated regulator
Headline tax: See Taxation
Licence required: No
Minimum age: Not yet verified
Tax base: No gambling tax exists because no gambling is lawful. Instead, stakes, winnings and proceeds are confiscated for the state and fined at multiples of the proceeds (Book Five, arts. 705 to 707; Judiciary advisory opinion of 8 March 2022), and Article 49 of the Constitution requires the state to seize wealth derived from gambling.

How to get a gambling licence in Iran

Online casino and online sports betting are prohibited in Iran, so no licence currently permits offering them. The licensing regime as recorded is set out below.

Our record shows no gambling licence requirement in Iran.

Iran has no dedicated gambling regulator.

Applications: Closed at present

Built from the record on this page, last verified 23 Sept 2026. The Licensing and Taxation sections carry the full detail and sources.

Legal framework

Primary statutes

Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Article 49
قانون اساسی جمهوری اسلامی ایران، اصل ۴۹
Year
1979
In force
Yes
Summary
The government must take wealth derived from usury, usurpation, bribery, embezzlement, theft, gambling and other unlawful sources and return it to its rightful owner, or to the public treasury where the owner is unknown.
Islamic Penal Code, Book Five (Ta'zirat and deterrent punishments), Chapter 28, Articles 705 to 711
کتاب پنجم قانون مجازات اسلامی (تعزیرات و مجازات‌های بازدارنده)
Year
1996
In force
Yes
Summary
The gambling offences, headed since 2023 "win and lose (gambling, betting and lottery)". Art. 705: any agreement to win or lose, joint prediction of an event, or chance-based draw where the loser pays is an offence in physical or virtual space, punished by confiscation of the property and proceeds and a degree 6 fine or one to three times the proceeds, whichever is greater. Art. 706: running a place or virtual space for it, degree 6 imprisonment, or degree 5 imprisonment plus confiscation and a fine of two to five times the proceeds where money was made, and a ban from payment and communication services. Art. 707: professionals, leaders of organised groups and large sums, degree 4 imprisonment and a fine of three to six times. Art. 708: gambling equipment. Art. 709: staff, designers and helpers, promoters, lenders of bank accounts, and a one-degree increase for cryptocurrency. Art. 710: officers who fail to report. Art. 711: reporting duty of banks, payment providers and telecoms operators.
Law amending Articles 705 to 711 of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code
قانون اصلاح مواد ۷۰۵ تا ۷۱۱ کتاب پنجم قانون مجازات اسلامی
Year
2023
In force
Yes
Summary
Passed by the Majlis on 22 February 2023 and confirmed by the Guardian Council on 4 March 2023. Rewrote the gambling chapter to cover betting and lotteries expressly and to reach virtual space, added the service bans, the promotion and account-lending offences, the cryptocurrency aggravation and the reporting duty of banks and telecoms operators, and repealed the 1969 law permitting lottery institutions in tourist centres (art. 9).
Islamic Penal Code of 2013, Article 19
قانون مجازات اسلامی مصوب ۱۳۹۲، ماده ۱۹
Year
2013
In force
Yes
Summary
Sets the eight degrees of ta'zir punishment used by the gambling articles. As amended on 19 June 2024: degree 4, over five to ten years or a fine of over IRR 1.65 billion to 3.3 billion; degree 5, over two to five years or over IRR 800 million to 1.65 billion; degree 6, over six months to two years or over IRR 200 million to 800 million; degree 7, 91 days to six months or over IRR 100 million to 200 million.
Civil Code, Articles 654 and 655
قانون مدنی، مواد ۶۵۴ و ۶۵۵
Year
1928
In force
Yes
Summary
Art. 654: gambling and wagering are void and claims arising from them will not be heard. Art. 655, as amended in 1991: wagering is permitted in the racing of riding animals and in shooting and swordsmanship, to which art. 654 does not apply.

Secondary instruments

Document on the prevention of and response to gambling in cyberspace (Supreme Council of Cyberspace, 85th session)
سند پیشگیری و مقابله با قمار در فضای مجازی
Year
2022
In force
Yes
Summary
Adopted 11 October 2022. Defines gambling in cyberspace by reference to arts. 705 to 711 and assigns national tasks: media guidance and regulation of advertising companies by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, regulation of broadcast content on draws and sports predictions by IRIB, prosecution and information pooling by the judiciary, detection by the police, a domain identification and blocking system by the ICT ministry, and account, gateway and exchange controls by the Central Bank.
Central Bank circular on transaction discipline in bank transfers
Year
2024
In force
Yes
Summary
Issued 16 November 2024. Names people active in gambling and betting among the unauthorised actors whose transfers the Central Bank monitors, requires payments to go to the counterparty's own account, and reminds banks that daily electronic transfers above IRR 4 billion for individuals, or IRR 10 billion for legal persons and commercial accounts, need a stated purpose and supporting documents.

Key amendments

5 Nov 1991Civil Code art. 655 amended to validate wagers on the racing of riding animals, shooting and swordsmanship.
22 Feb 2023Arts. 705 to 711 of Book Five rewritten to cover gambling, betting and lotteries in physical and virtual space, with service bans, promotion and account-lending offences and a reporting duty for banks and telecoms operators; the 1969 tourist-centre lottery law repealed. Confirmed by the Guardian Council on 4 March 2023.
19 Jun 2024Fine bands for the eight degrees of ta'zir punishment raised (Islamic Penal Code 2013, art. 19); a degree 6 fine is now over IRR 200 million to 800 million.

Case law

Advisory opinion 7/97/2584 of the Legal Department of the Judiciary
30 Sept 2019
Under the pre-2023 text, a website set up for gambling, or offering games such as pasur and backgammon for stakes alongside other activity, was a gambling house; betting as such was void under Civil Code art. 654 but outside the gambling offence in art. 705. The 2023 amendment closed that gap.
Advisory opinion 7/1400/909 of the Legal Department of the Judiciary
8 Mar 2022
The order to confiscate money connected with gambling covers both money set aside for play and money won, with no difference between gambling online and offline.

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, betting, lotteries and prediction wagers are criminal offences for players and operators under arts. 705 to 711 of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code, and the only lawful tourist lottery route, the 1969 law on lottery institutions in tourist centres, was repealed in 2023. The only carve-out is for prizes paid between participants in horse riding, shooting and fencing contests, and contests with military equipment, held in person.

Taxation

Headline GGR tax: Not yet verified
Effective date: Not yet verified
Tax base: No gambling tax exists because no gambling is lawful. Instead, stakes, winnings and proceeds are confiscated for the state and fined at multiples of the proceeds (Book Five, arts. 705 to 707; Judiciary advisory opinion of 8 March 2022), and Article 49 of the Constitution requires the state to seize wealth derived from gambling.

Compliance

Minimum age: Not yet verified
National self-exclusion: Not yet verified
AML regime: Gambling proceeds are criminal proceeds. The Central Bank circular of 16 November 2024 lists gambling and betting actors among the unauthorised activities whose transfers it monitors and requires documented purposes for large daily transfers (above IRR 4 billion for individuals, IRR 10 billion for legal persons). Anyone who knowingly lends a bank account, card or payment gateway to a gambling operation is punished as an accessory and barred from those tools for one to two years (art. 709(3)).
KYC requirements: Not yet verified
Stake limits: Not yet verified
Reporting obligations: Providers of communication services, payment services or electronic banking, including banks and telecoms operators, that learn of gambling offences on their services must report them to the judiciary immediately; failure is punished by a degree 4 fine or four times the total transactions involved, whichever is greater (art. 711). Judicial officers who fail to report face temporary dismissal and a degree 6 penalty (art. 710).

Advertising

Advertising permitted: No
Affiliate rules: Affiliate-style promotion for payment is within art. 709(2); anyone who builds, designs, maintains or supports a gambling site, physical or virtual, is punished under art. 709(1) by a degree 5 penalty other than imprisonment.
Celebrity and influencer rules: No provision names influencers, but promotion is an offence under art. 709(2). In February 2025 the Tehran FATA police arrested two Instagram bloggers with more than two million followers between them for directing users to betting sites for payment. The 2022 cyberspace document asks the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance to monitor celebrities and sports figures to keep them out of the gambling cycle.
Penalties for breach: Degree 7 imprisonment (91 days to six months) and a degree 7 fine (over IRR 100 million to 200 million), plus confiscation of earnings and a fine of twice their value (art. 709(2); Islamic Penal Code 2013, art. 19).

Restrictions

Advertising or promoting gambling, betting or lotteries, or encouraging or inviting anyone to take part, is an offence punished by degree 7 imprisonment and fine; where the promoter earned money, the proceeds are confiscated and a fine of twice their value is added (Book Five, art. 709(2))
Offering gambling under cover of charity, services or the sale of goods attracts the maximum penalties for running a gambling venue (art. 706, note 1)
IRIB is tasked with regulating commercial advertising and programmes involving draws, lotteries and sports predictions to prevent the promotion of gambling (Supreme Council of Cyberspace document, 2022, cl. 4-2-1)
The Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade is tasked with making sure websites holding the e-commerce trust mark do not carry gambling advertising (cl. 4-9-1)

Payments

Credit card ban: Not yet verified
Crypto stance: Prohibited
Payment blocking regime: Courts must bar operators of gambling venues for six months to two years, and two to five years on repeat, from payment gateways, POS terminals, bank cards, internet service, SIM cards, chequebooks and .ir domain names, and prosecutors may order providers to stop service before judgment (art. 706, note 2). Lending an account, card or gateway to a gambling operation carries a one to two year ban from those tools (art. 709(3)), and banks and payment providers must report gambling on their services (art. 711). The Central Bank said in January 2024 that it had identified more than 20,000 gateways and 72,000 rented cards and disciplined payment companies; in June 2026 the judiciary said more than 35,000 accounts and 1,250 gateways had been blocked over five years and that banks now carry out blocking orders in about an hour.

Enforcement

ISP blocking: Not yet verified
DNS blocking: Not yet verified
Payment blocking: Yes
App store takedowns: Not yet verified
Administrative penalties: The Central Bank has imposed fines, gateway and software blocking and limits on merchants against payment providers used by gambling sites.
Criminal penalties: Players: confiscation of stakes and proceeds plus a degree 6 fine (over IRR 200 million to 800 million) or one to three times the proceeds, whichever is greater (art. 705). Running a gambling venue, physical or virtual: degree 6 imprisonment (over six months to two years), or degree 5 imprisonment (over two to five years) plus confiscation and a fine of two to five times the proceeds where money was made, and a ban from payment and communication services (art. 706). Professionals, leaders of organised groups or sums above 1.5 times the large-transactions threshold: degree 4 imprisonment (over five to ten years) and a fine of three to six times (art. 707). Promotion: degree 7 imprisonment and fine (art. 709(2)). All penalties rise one degree where cryptocurrency is used (art. 709(4)).
Operator liability: Anyone who sets up or runs a place or virtual space for gambling is liable under art. 706, and those who work in it, build, design, maintain or support it are punished under art. 709(1). Offering gambling under cover of charity or sales attracts the maximum penalty.
Player liability: Players are liable: art. 705 punishes any person who takes part in an agreement to win or lose, a joint prediction or a chance-based draw, in physical or virtual space. A non-professional who cooperates effectively in identifying the organisers is exempt from prosecution once the proceeds are confiscated (art. 705, note 2).

Notable actions

Online betting network run from the Philippines through agents in Golestan, Mazandaran, Gilan, Ardabil and Khorasan Razavi16 Aug 2022
First-instance court in Golestan fined nine defendants more than IRR 330 billion in total and sentenced each to up to two years in prison; cases against 70 more defendants continuing
Internet gambling gangs29 Aug 2022
FATA police said six gangs with a turnover above IRR 12,000 billion had been dismantled since March 2022 and 93 principals arrested; IRR 50 billion of proceeds frozen in one case
Payment gateways and rented bank cards15 Jan 2024
Central Bank said it had identified more than 20,000 internet payment gateways linked to gambling operators, with judicial cases opened against their holders, and more than 72,000 rented cards, whose holders were restricted from banking services
Nitro bet network and the Pardakht.me payment channel9 Mar 2024
Ministry of Intelligence said it had dismantled a network using 35,006 accounts, 1,200 rented bank gateways and 54 gambling and betting sites, and arrested five domestic managers on charges including disrupting the economic system, money laundering and running a virtual gambling house
Internet gambling gangs, account renters and promoters13 Jan 2025
FATA police said that since March 2024 about 1,500 service providers, account renters, users and promoters had been identified, nine gangs dismantled and 145 principals and account renters arrested
Two Instagram bloggers with more than two million followers between them24 Feb 2025
Arrested by the Tehran FATA police for promoting betting sites in return for payment
Online gambling networks (five-year judiciary figures)22 Jun 2026
Judiciary spokesman said more than 35,000 bank accounts and 1,250 bank gateways had been blocked, about 10,000 rented phone numbers identified and blocked, 5,750 professional gamblers and more than 35,000 people linked to money laundering networks identified, and that online gambling crime had fallen by 67 per cent

Timeline

15 Jun 1969
Law allowing lottery institutions in tourist centres for tourists enacted (repealed in 2023)
3 Dec 1979
Constitution adopted by referendum; Article 49 requires the state to seize wealth derived from gambling
5 Nov 1991
Civil Code art. 655 amended to validate wagers on racing, shooting and swordsmanship
22 May 1996
Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code enacted, with gambling offences in Articles 705 to 711
30 Sept 2019
Judiciary advisory opinion treats gambling websites as gambling houses but finds betting outside the gambling offence
11 Oct 2022
Supreme Council of Cyberspace adopts the national document on preventing and combating gambling in cyberspace
22 Feb 2023
Majlis passes the law rewriting Articles 705 to 711 to cover betting, lotteries and online gambling; confirmed by the Guardian Council on 4 March 2023
9 Mar 2024
Ministry of Intelligence announces the dismantling of the Nitro bet network
19 Jun 2024
Fine bands for ta'zir penalties raised
16 Nov 2024
Central Bank circular on transaction discipline names gambling and betting actors among monitored unauthorised activities
22 Jun 2026
Judiciary reports 35,000 bank accounts and 1,250 gateways linked to gambling blocked over five years

Outlook

Nothing points to legalisation. No bill to regulate gambling was found, though the parliament's research centre could not be reached from outside Iran to confirm this. The direction is tighter financial enforcement. The judiciary reported in July 2026 a blacklist of people who rent out bank accounts to virtual gambling houses and a credit scoring plan that raises the liability of account holders, and the Central Bank has said it wants suspicious gambling behaviour to count against individuals' credit scores. The 2022 Supreme Council of Cyberspace document also tasked the ICT ministry with a system to identify and block gambling domains; whether it is running was not established.

Frequently asked questions

Is gambling legal in Iran?: No. Articles 705 to 711 of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code, rewritten in 2023, make gambling, betting and lotteries criminal offences in physical and virtual space. There is no regulator and no licence.
Is online sports betting with offshore sites legal for Iranian players?: No. Art. 705 punishes any person who enters an agreement to win or lose or joins others in predicting an event where the loser pays, online or offline. Players forfeit stakes and winnings and face a degree 6 fine or one to three times the proceeds, whichever is greater.
What are the penalties for running a gambling site?: Degree 6 imprisonment, rising to degree 5 imprisonment (over two to five years) with confiscation and a fine of two to five times the proceeds where money was made, and a ban from payment and communication services. Professionals, organised groups and large sums face degree 4 imprisonment (over five to ten years), and penalties rise one degree where cryptocurrency is used.
Is there a lottery or any exemption?: No lawful lottery exists: art. 705(3) covers draws and games of chance, and the 1969 tourist-centre lottery law was repealed in 2023. The only exemption covers prizes paid between participants in horse riding, shooting, fencing and military equipment contests held in person.
Can gambling be advertised or promoted?: No. Promoting gambling or inviting people to take part is punished by degree 7 imprisonment and fine under art. 709(2), with any earnings confiscated. The Tehran FATA police arrested two Instagram bloggers for promoting betting sites in February 2025.
How are payments to gambling sites blocked?: Courts bar operators from payment gateways, bank cards and other services, lending an account to a gambling site is an offence, and banks must report gambling traffic. The judiciary said in June 2026 that more than 35,000 accounts and 1,250 gateways had been blocked over five years.
Who regulates gambling in Iran?: Iran has no dedicated gambling regulator.

Glossary and directory

Glossary terms for this profile

iGT coverage of Iran

Hegseth Bars Troops and Pentagon Staff From Trading on Nonpublic Information, Naming Polymarket and Kalshi

Prediction Markets

24 Oct 2026

Hegseth Bars Troops and Pentagon Staff From Trading on Nonpublic Information, Naming Polymarket and Kalshi

A one-page memo from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tells service members and civilians that trading on nonpublic information, classified or not, can bring discipline or prosecution, and calls their bets a signal enemies can read. As reported, it stops short of the ban on military-event trading that lawmakers asked for in May.

Prediction Markets

14 Sept 2026

ESMA Finds Prediction Markets Rife With Inside Trading and Unauthorised in EU

The EU securities regulator's risk report finds the biggest platforms hold no EU authorisation, that binary-option rules bar retail sale where contracts are derivatives, and that platform surveillance arrives only after the profits are banked.

Prediction Markets

25 Aug 2026

Polymarket Referred Dozens of Its Own Traders to the Justice Department

A soldier is charged with turning $33,000 into more than $400,000 on contracts predicting the capture of Nicolas Maduro. Five days earlier, the CFTC chairman called the Venezuela example fake news.

Us congress turns up the heat on cftc over prediction markets and insider trading

Regulatory

17 Apr 2026

US Congress Turns Up the Heat on CFTC Over Prediction Markets and Insider Trading

A congressional hearing has exposed deep uncertainty at the heart of American prediction markets regulation. When the CFTC chair cannot tell a prediction market contract apart from a sportsbook bet, the regulatory gap becomes impossible to ignore.

Polymarket faces scrutiny after account correctly predicted United States strike on Iran, triggering Israeli police probe

Prediction Markets

4 Mar 2026

Polymarket faces scrutiny after account correctly predicted United States strike on Iran, triggering Israeli police probe

Israeli police are investigating a large Polymarket wager that correctly predicted a United States strike on Iran on 28 February, amid concerns about possible insider knowledge and renewed scrutiny of how prediction platforms handle high risk geopolitical markets.

Kazakhstan Approves Major Casino Expansion to Boost Tourism

Regulatory

4 Jan 2026

Kazakhstan Approves Major Casino Expansion to Boost Tourism

Kazakhstan has approved a major expansion of its gambling zones, authorizing new casinos on the Caspian coast and Lake Alakol. The move aims to capture foreign tourism revenue while maintaining strict domestic controls.

Bitcoin Bounces to $106K After Geopolitical Jitters, But Analysts Warn of Pullback Risk

Crypto

14 Jun 2025

Bitcoin Bounces to $106K After Geopolitical Jitters, But Analysts Warn of Pullback Risk

Bitcoin's price has rebounded to around $106,000 following early Friday jitters that stemmed from escalating conflict in the Middle East between Israel and

Sources

Source tiers. Tier 1: the law, official gazette, licence register or regulator itself. Tier 2: other official sources such as ministries, parliaments, courts and statistics agencies. Only tier 1 and tier 2 sources can support a fact on their own.

Islamic Penal Code, Book Five (Ta'zirat and deterrent punishments), 22 May 1996, consolidated text, Chapter 28, Articles 705 to 711 as amended in 2023
National Portal of Laws and Regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran (qavanin.ir), Vice-Presidency for Legal Affairs (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 22 May 1996
Law amending Articles 705 to 711 of Book Five of the Islamic Penal Code, passed by the Islamic Consultative Assembly on 22 February 2023 and confirmed by the Guardian Council on 4 March 2023
National Portal of Laws and Regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran (qavanin.ir), Vice-Presidency for Legal Affairs (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 22 Feb 2023
Islamic Penal Code of 2013, Article 19 (the eight degrees of ta'zir punishment, as amended on 19 June 2024)
National Portal of Laws and Regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran (qavanin.ir), Vice-Presidency for Legal Affairs (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 21 Apr 2013
Civil Code, Chapter 12 (gambling and wagering), Articles 654 and 655 (Article 655 as amended on 5 November 1991)
National Portal of Laws and Regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran (qavanin.ir), Vice-Presidency for Legal Affairs (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran (1979, amended 1989), Article 49
National Portal of Laws and Regulations of the Islamic Republic of Iran (qavanin.ir), Vice-Presidency for Legal Affairs (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 3 Dec 1979
Resolution of the 85th session of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace: document on the prevention of and response to gambling in cyberspace, 11 October 2022
Supreme Council of Cyberspace (text on qavanin.ir) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 11 Oct 2022
Advisory opinion 7/97/2584 of 30 September 2019 of the Legal Department of the Judiciary on Article 708 and websites created for gambling
Legal Department of the Judiciary (text on qavanin.ir) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 30 Sept 2019
Advisory opinion 7/1400/909 of 8 March 2022 of the Legal Department of the Judiciary on confiscation of funds from internet gambling
Legal Department of the Judiciary (text on qavanin.ir) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 8 Mar 2022
Central Bank circular of 16 November 2024 on transaction discipline in bank transfers
Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran (text on qavanin.ir) (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 16 Nov 2024
67 per cent fall in online gambling crime: 35,000 bank accounts blocked and 5,750 professional gamblers identified
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 2 Jul 2026
Judiciary spokesman reports on five years of the judiciary: more than 35,000 bank accounts linked to gambling networks blocked
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 22 Jun 2026
Gambling bloggers in prison (Tehran FATA police arrest two Instagram promoters of betting sites)
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 24 Feb 2025
Measures of the Prosecutor General's Office to protect public psychological security, including blocking the financial flows of virtual gambling houses (interview with the Prosecutor General)
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 2 Feb 2025
Internet gambling gangs dismantled across the country (FATA police statement)
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 13 Jan 2025
Largest financial disruption network and online gambling houses linked to Britain dismantled (Ministry of Intelligence statement of 9 March 2024)
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 9 Mar 2024
More than 20,000 internet payment gateways active in the cyber gambling and betting network blocked (Central Bank deputy for new technologies)
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 15 Jan 2024
Six internet gambling gangs with a turnover of over IRR 12,000 billion dismantled (FATA police statement)
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 29 Aug 2022
Verdict issued against the ringleaders of an online gambling gang in Golestan province
Mizan News Agency (official news agency of the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic of Iran) (translated)
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 16 Aug 2022

Summary

Common pitfalls

Key facts

How to get a gambling licence in Iran

Legal framework

Primary statutes

Secondary instruments

Key amendments

Case law

Licensing

Taxation

Compliance

Advertising

Restrictions

Payments

Enforcement

Notable actions

Timeline

Outlook

Frequently asked questions

Glossary and directory

Glossary terms for this profile

Related jurisdictions

iGT coverage of Iran

Hegseth Bars Troops and Pentagon Staff From Trading on Nonpublic Information, Naming Polymarket and Kalshi

ESMA Finds Prediction Markets Rife With Inside Trading and Unauthorised in EU

Polymarket Referred Dozens of Its Own Traders to the Justice Department

US Congress Turns Up the Heat on CFTC Over Prediction Markets and Insider Trading

Polymarket faces scrutiny after account correctly predicted United States strike on Iran, triggering Israeli police probe

Kazakhstan Approves Major Casino Expansion to Boost Tourism

Bitcoin Bounces to $106K After Geopolitical Jitters, But Analysts Warn of Pullback Risk

Sources