Maldives: gambling regulation and licensing
- Online casinoProhibited
- Online sports bettingProhibited
- Online pokerProhibited
- iLotteryProhibited
- Land-based (reference)Prohibited
- Regulator
- Not yet verified
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Not yet verified
- Last verified
- 24 Sept 2026
Summary
The Maldives treats all gambling as prohibited and has no gambling regulator, licence or gaming tax. The prohibition rests on the Constitution rather than on a gambling statute: article 19 allows citizens any conduct not expressly prohibited by Islamic Shari'ah or by law, and article 10 makes Islam one of the bases of all law. The Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering, in its evaluation adopted in August 2025, recorded that gambling is prohibited on that basis and that casinos are prohibited; the IMF said the same of casinos and internet casinos in 2011. No online or land-based vertical is open. The Penal Code of 2014 contains no gambling offence, and section 12 provides that no conduct is a crime unless a statute makes it one, so there is at present no statutory penalty for playing or for running gambling. Enforcement is administrative: since July 2024 the Communications Authority of Maldives has blocked online betting sites on police orders, and in April 2026 police handed 38 foreign nationals caught using drugs and gambling to Immigration for deportation. Online gambling is a live money laundering concern, accounting for 109 of 752 financial intelligence disseminations based on suspicious transaction reports in 2019 to 2024. The main change in prospect is a government bill, submitted in December 2025, to amend the Penal Code so that gambling and operating a gambling establishment, including online, become offences carrying up to four years in prison. It had not been enacted by 24 September 2026.
Common pitfalls
Assuming gambling is already a crime under the Penal Code: the 2014 code has no gambling offence, and the bill to create one had not been enacted at review. Reading the absence of a penalty as permission: the Constitution, as applied by the authorities and recorded by the APG, treats gambling as prohibited, and betting sites are blocked. Assuming resort islands are exempt: casinos are prohibited outright, and neither the APG nor the IMF assessment records any exception for tourism.
Key facts
- Regulator
- Not yet verified
- Regulator type
- No dedicated regulator
- Headline tax
- Not yet verified
- Licence required
- Not yet verified
- Minimum age
- Not yet verified
- Tax base
- No gaming tax: there is no lawful gambling market and no licensed operator.
Legal framework
Primary statutes
Constitution of the Republic of Maldives 2008, articles 10, 19 and 142
- Year
- 2008
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Art. 10: the religion of the State is Islam, Islam is one of the bases of all the laws of the Maldives, and no law contrary to any tenet of Islam may be enacted. Art. 19: a citizen is free to engage in any conduct or activity that is not expressly prohibited by Islamic Shari'ah or by law, and no control or restraint may be exercised against any person unless expressly authorised by law. Art. 142: where the Constitution or the law is silent, judges must consider Islamic Shari'ah. The APG treats art. 19 as the legal basis of the gambling prohibition.
- Year
- 2014
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Contains no gambling offence. S.12: no conduct constitutes an offence unless it is an offence under the Code or another statute. S.10: the Code took effect 12 months after publication in the Gazette. The religious offences in ss.616 and 617 cover failing to fast, consuming pork or alcohol and criticising Islam, not gambling. S.92 caps a Class 4 felony at four years' imprisonment and s.93 its fine at MVR 200,000 or twice the harm caused or gain derived, the grade the pending gambling bill is reported to use.
Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act (PMLFT Act, 2014)
- Year
- 2014
- In force
- Yes
- Summary
- Sets AML/CFT preventive measures for financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses; s.7 establishes the Financial Intelligence Unit within the Maldives Monetary Authority, and s.77(c) defines designated non-financial businesses in line with the FATF definition. Casinos are outside its practical scope because they are prohibited. Text not read; summarised from the APG 2025 evaluation.
Pending legislation
Bill to amend the Penal Code (Law No. 6/2014) to criminalise gambling and operating a gambling establishment
- Stage
- Submitted to the People's Majlis by the government in December 2025 and presented by Hithadhoo Central MP Ahmed Azan by January 2026. Not enacted at review: no Penal Code amendment appears among the laws gazetted up to Law No. 17/2026 of 1 September 2026.
- What it changes
- As reported, makes gambling, including online gambling, and operating a gambling establishment, including online platforms and businesses, a fourth-degree offence: standard sentence one year, seven months and six days, minimum four months and 24 days, maximum four years. Defines gambling as staking something of value on a game, tournament, scheme or event, electronically, by a gambling device or on a present or future event, for a determinable outcome. Excludes prizes in entertainment or sporting competitions, free-entry lotteries and prize draws, and certain sporting devices with redeemable tokens.
Licensing
- Licence required
- Not yet verified
- Application window
- Not yet verified
- Local establishment required
- Not yet verified
- Local server required
- Not yet verified
- Barriers to entry
- The market is closed. There is no licensing route for any operator, local or foreign; casinos are prohibited, online betting sites are blocked at police request, and a government bill would make operating a gambling establishment, including an online platform, a criminal offence.
Licence types
None available
- Scope
- There is no licence for any form of gambling, online or land-based. Casinos are prohibited, and gambling is treated as prohibited under art. 19 of the Constitution.
Taxation
- Headline GGR tax
- Not yet verified
- Effective date
- Not yet verified
- Tax base
- No gaming tax: there is no lawful gambling market and no licensed operator.
Compliance
- Minimum age
- Not yet verified
- National self-exclusion
- Not yet verified
- AML regime
- Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Act of 2014. The APG evaluation adopted in August 2025 rated R.22 and R.28 (DNFBPs) partially compliant and treated casinos as a lower-risk area because they are prohibited. Online gambling is nonetheless a recognised predicate: 109 of 752 STR-based FIU disseminations in 2019 to 2024 (14.49%) related to online gambling, and a police case study found officers' bank accounts leased to people running online gambling tables to conceal funds.
- AML supervisor
- Financial Intelligence Unit (within the Maldives Monetary Authority)
- KYC requirements
- Not yet verified
- Stake limits
- Not yet verified
Payments
- Credit card ban
- Not yet verified
- Crypto stance
- Not addressed
- Payment blocking regime
- No rule requiring banks or payment providers to block gambling payments was found. In January 2026 former Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem wrote that banks could be stopped from paying online betting platforms through the Maldives Monetary Authority, which he proposed as a measure rather than described as one in force. The APG found in 2025 that there is no legal framework to regulate virtual asset service providers and no prohibition on the use of virtual assets.
Enforcement
- ISP blocking
- Yes
- DNS blocking
- Not yet verified
- Payment blocking
- Not yet verified
- App store takedowns
- Not yet verified
- Administrative penalties
- Blocking of online betting websites by the Communications Authority of Maldives on police orders, in place since July 2024. In April 2026 police handed 38 foreign nationals caught using drugs and gambling to Immigration for deportation under the Immigration Act; this is a single reported case, not a set penalty for gambling.
- Criminal penalties
- None specific to gambling at review: the Penal Code 2014 has no gambling offence and s.12 provides that no conduct is an offence unless a statute makes it one. The pending government bill would make gambling and operating a gambling establishment an offence carrying up to four years' imprisonment.
- Operator liability
- No statutory offence of operating gambling was found in force. The pending bill would criminalise operating a gambling establishment, expressly including online platforms and businesses.
- Player liability
- No statutory penalty for playing was found in force. The pending bill would make gambling itself a criminal offence.
Notable actions
- Online betting websites used in the Maldives10 Jul 2024
The Communications Authority of Maldives began blocking betting sites on police orders; the police said they had asked CAM to block three to four sites, one of which, Kira.com, was already blocked. The total blocked was not disclosed.
- 38 Bangladeshi nationals gathered in Male' for drug use and gambling16 Apr 2026
Taken into police custody after an intelligence-led operation and handed to Immigration for deportation under the Immigration Act.
- Correctional officers laundering funds through online gambling platforms
Police financial investigation, supported by FIU analysis, found officers gambling online and leasing their bank accounts to people running online gambling tables to conceal the source of funds; reported by the APG as a money laundering case study.
Timeline
2008
Constitution adopted; art. 19 permits any conduct not expressly prohibited by Islamic Shari'ah or by law, the basis later cited for the gambling prohibition
20 Jul 2011
IMF assessment for the APG records that gambling, including casinos and internet casinos, is outlawed on the basis of the Constitution
2014
Penal Code (Law No. 6/2014) enacted with no gambling offence; s.12 abolishes crimes not set out in statute
10 Jul 2024
Communications Authority of Maldives begins blocking online betting sites on police orders
31 Oct 2024
Attorney General Ahmed Usham announces amendments to the law to ban online gambling
20 Oct 2025
APG publishes its mutual evaluation of the Maldives, adopted in August 2025, confirming that gambling and casinos are prohibited
10 Dec 2025
Government submits a bill to amend the Penal Code to criminalise gambling and operating a gambling establishment
4 Jan 2026
Bill details published: gambling offences graded fourth degree, up to four years in prison, online platforms expressly covered
16 Apr 2026
Police detain 38 foreign nationals for drug use and gambling in Male' and hand them to Immigration for deportation
Outlook
The Penal Code amendment submitted in December 2025 is the development to watch: if the People's Majlis passes it, gambling and running a gambling establishment, including online platforms, become criminal offences for the first time, with up to four years' imprisonment. It had not been gazetted by 24 September 2026. Site blocking by the Communications Authority at police request is likely to continue alongside it. Follow-up to the APG evaluation of 2025, which rated the DNFBP recommendations partially compliant, will keep online gambling proceeds in view for the Financial Intelligence Unit.
Frequently asked questions
- Is online gambling legal in the Maldives?
- No. There is no licensing regime, and gambling is treated as prohibited under art. 19 of the Constitution on the basis that Islamic Shari'ah prohibits it. Since July 2024 the Communications Authority of Maldives has blocked online betting sites on police orders.
- Is gambling a criminal offence?
- Not yet under statute. The Penal Code of 2014 contains no gambling offence and s.12 provides that no conduct is an offence unless a statute makes it one. A government bill submitted in December 2025 would make gambling and operating a gambling establishment offences carrying up to four years in prison; it had not been enacted by 24 September 2026.
- Can a foreign operator obtain a licence?
- No. There is no licence for any form of gambling, online or land-based, and no gambling regulator.
- Are there casinos in the Maldives, including at resorts?
- No. The APG recorded in 2025 that casinos are prohibited under art. 19 of the Constitution, and the IMF found in 2011 that it is illegal to operate casinos. Neither assessment records an exception for resorts.
- What happens to people caught gambling?
- There is no statutory penalty for playing at present. In April 2026 police detained 38 foreign nationals caught using drugs and gambling in Male' and handed them to Immigration for deportation under the Immigration Act.
Sources
- Constitution of the Republic of Maldives 2008, functional translation (arts. 10, 19 and 142)
The President's Office, Republic of Maldives
Functional English translation of the 2008 text. The Constitution has since been amended (the seventh amendment is Law No. 21/2025); arts. 10, 19 and 142 were read in this 2008 text only, and the APG 2025 evaluation cites art. 19 as the current basis of the gambling prohibition.
Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 2008 - Law No. 6/2014, Penal Code, English translation (ss. 10, 12, 90, 92, 93, 613, 616 and 617)
University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School (English translation), archived copy
Unofficial English translation; the Dhivehi text on the Attorney General's portal is authoritative and was not read. The original University of Pennsylvania link now returns 404, so the archived copy was read. The code has been amended since 2014; no amendment adding a gambling offence appears in the Government Gazette laws listing read on 2026-09-24.
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 2014 - Government Gazette, laws listing (Laws No. 7/2025 to 17/2026, the latest gazetted 1 September 2026)
The President's Office, Government Gazette of the Maldives (translated)
Tier 1Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 1 Sept 2026 - Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing measures: Maldives, Mutual Evaluation Report, October 2025 (paras. 19, 50, 111, 135, 189, 304, 373, 379, 526; Tables 3.10 to 3.12)
Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG)
Adopted by the APG membership in August 2025; on-site visit 13 to 23 January 2025. It describes gambling as "expressly prohibited" under the Constitution on the basis of Shari'ah (art. 19), but the Constitution does not name gambling and no statutory offence of gambling was found in the Penal Code.
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 20 Oct 2025 - Maldives: Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism, IMF Country Report No. 12/1 (paras. 21, 96 and 687)
International Monetary Fund, for the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering
Report dated 20 July 2011, published January 2012. The IMF site refused the fetch, so the archived copy was read.
Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published Jan 2012 - CAM begins blocking online betting sites
The Edition
Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 10 Jul 2024 - Initiative launched to block betting sites from the Maldives
Sun Online International
Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 10 Jul 2024 - Law to be amended to ban online gambling
The Edition
Tier 3Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 31 Oct 2024 - Bill introduced to criminalize gambling
The Edition
Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 10 Dec 2025 - Bill proposes criminalizing gambling with jail sentences
The Edition
Reports the bill's content; the bill text on the People's Majlis website could not be retrieved because the site blocks automated access.
Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 4 Jan 2026 - Tier 3Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 26 Jan 2026
- Tier 3Accessed 24 Sept 2026Published 17 Apr 2026