Pakistan’s gambling law was written for card games in back rooms, long before betting apps reached millions of phones through sponsored YouTube videos and social media posts. That is why it played almost no part when the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) stopped YouTuber Saad-ur-Rehman, better known as Ducky Bhai, at Lahore Airport in August 2025. He was accused of promoting betting apps online, and the case against him was built on cybercrime law instead.
What Does the Prevention of Gambling Act 1977 Actually Cover?
The Prevention of Gambling Act 1977 extends to the whole of Pakistan, and Punjab and Sindh added their own gambling ordinances in 1978. The federal Act is built around one idea, the “common gaming-house”. It defines that as a house, room, tent, enclosure, vehicle, vessel or other place where instruments of gaming are kept or used for profit. Put simply, the law imagines a physical room where someone takes a cut of the stakes.
The punishments were sized for that world. Running a gaming house carries one month to one year in prison or a fine of Rs 100 to Rs 1,000, while gaming in a public street can bring a fine of up to Rs 500. Even the heaviest penalty in the Act, the one for repeat offenders, stops at three years in prison and a Rs 2,000 fine. In 1977 those were serious amounts of money. In 2026 they would barely cover a phone charger.
Nothing in the Act mentions the internet or an operator based in another country. A betting app has no premises, and nobody can be found gaming inside them. Police can raid a room in Lahore, but they cannot raid a server abroad.
The same silence extends to money. As this guide to Pakistan’s tax treatment of gambling winnings notes, income from lotteries and prize bonds is taxable, while winnings from offshore betting are not explicitly addressed. For an app that collects deposits through a phone, the old law offers neither a licence to apply for nor a tax rule to follow.
Why Are Betting App Cases Filed Under PECA Instead?
When investigators began looking at influencers who endorsed betting platforms in mid-2025, they turned to the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act 2016 (PECA). In the Ducky Bhai case, FIR No. 196/25 was registered under PECA sections covering electronic forgery, electronic fraud, spamming and spoofing. It also cited parts of the Pakistan Penal Code dealing with cheating and unlawful prizes. The apps named in reporting at the time included 1XBet and the trading platform Binomo.
The penalties are in a different league. A lawyer quoted when Ducky Bhai was arrested said he could face up to seven years in prison and a Rs 10 million fine if convicted. That is several thousand times the maximum fine available under the gambling law itself. The Lahore High Court granted him bail in November 2025 against a bond of PKR 1 million, and the case has moved towards trial.
He was not the only one. The NCCIA in Lahore has registered several cases against social media figures Rajab Butt and Nadeem Naniwala over the promotion of betting apps. That pattern shows where enforcement is aimed. The people being charged are the ones advertising the apps inside Pakistan, because they are within reach of a Pakistani court. The operators are not.
Who Polices Offshore Betting Sites in Pakistan?
Pakistan has no gambling regulator. There is no licensing body, no list of approved operators and no authority that can fine a foreign betting company. Responsibility is instead spread across agencies that were set up for other jobs.
The NCCIA, created in 2025 to take over cybercrime work from the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), handles the criminal cases. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) can block websites under PECA, although blocked sites can reappear under new addresses. The money trail is the third front. Investigators in the Ducky Bhai case said they found records of large financial transactions linked to betting apps on his phone, which puts banks and mobile wallets in the middle of any serious crackdown.
Those agencies have plenty else on their desks. In August 2026 the FIA and NCCIA arrested more than 500 foreign nationals in Islamabad in a single cybercrime crackdown on illegal call centres and fraud networks. Betting apps compete for attention with sextortion rings and Ponzi schemes. All of it runs through PECA, because there is no dedicated law to use instead.
What This Means for Influencers and Users
For influencers, the last year sent a plain message. Promoting a betting app is treated as a cybercrime and a fraud question, and the penalties are those of PECA and the Penal Code, not the token fines of 1977. A sponsorship deal that looks like easy money can end with a travel ban, a seized phone and months in court.
For ordinary users, the picture is less settled. The 1977 Act punishes people found gaming in a gaming house or in public, and it was not drafted with a person on a phone in mind. That gap is not permission. Gambling remains prohibited in Pakistan, payments to offshore platforms can draw the attention of investigators, and users have no local regulator to turn to if an app refuses to pay out or misuses their data.
The longer question is whether Parliament updates the law itself. India passed a national online gaming law in 2025, while Pakistan is still relying on a statute written before the internet reached the country. Until that changes, the country will keep policing betting apps with cybercrime tools, one influencer case at a time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is online betting legal in Pakistan?
No. Gambling is prohibited under the Prevention of Gambling Act 1977, and the Punjab and Sindh ordinances of 1978 follow the same gaming-house model. Neither names online betting, but that silence does not make it lawful.
Why was Ducky Bhai charged under PECA and not the gambling law?
Because his alleged offence was advertising apps to an online audience, not running or visiting a gaming house. Investigators also said they found records of betting-linked transactions on his phone, which fits PECA’s fraud offences far better than a 1977 raid provision.
Who blocks betting websites in Pakistan?
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, using its blocking powers under PECA. Blocking only removes an address, though, so the criminal side of betting app cases sits with the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency.
Is a new gambling law coming?
Pakistan has not replaced the 1977 Act, so for now betting app cases continue to be prosecuted under PECA and the Pakistan Penal Code.
