Mongolia legalizes sports betting, all other gambling banned

The government of Mongolia has approved a new law to legalize sports betting while explicitly prohibiting all other forms of gambling.

The new measures will see the introduction of a bespoke licensing system for sportsbooks, designed to stave off the risk of Mongolian citizens falling victim to fraud and other online crimes. 

Government officials are also keen to stop the flow of national currency outside the country to protect national economic security

Fresh proposals have been put on the table to punish individuals found to be involved in illicit gambling activities, including fines of up to MNT 100,000 ($28.83).

Amendments to existing laws would target those who allow the use of personal accounts, payment portals, money exchange services, or telecoms networks for such purposes.

Uchral Nyam-Osor, Chief cabinet secretary, stated: “According to a survey conducted by the National Statistics Committee, 200 economic crimes were registered in 2023, amounting to a loss of MNT 417.2bn ($144m) as of 2024.”

He continued, “Mainly young people aged 18-39 were involved in these crimes. Financial investigation data shows that MNT1.7tn ($541.8m) has been transferred from Mongolia to foreign countries.”

“Although the Communications Regulatory Commission has restricted access to 6,000 domain addresses that conduct online gambling, these sites have changed their links and are still operating.”

“Moreover, the Antimonopoly Agency has imposed fines on law-breaking enterprises, but according to the laws in force, the penalty amounted to just MNT 13m. Therefore, we are going to amend the relevant laws to ban such activities,” added Nyam-Osor.

There will also be a crackdown on ads for gambling services and paid-for puzzle games in Mongolia.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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