Bangladesh High Court orders government report on online gambling
The Bangladesh High Court has ordered the country’s government to report its progress in tackling online gambling advertising within 30 days.
The High Court bench, consisting of Justice Kazi Zinat Hoque and Justice Aynun Nahar Siddiqua, passed an order requiring multiple government agencies to provide an affidavit on the steps they are taking against individuals promoting and advertising gambling online.
The ruling follows a legal notice served on 16 April, on behalf of the human rights organization Law and Life Foundation Trust, calling on the government to close all online gateways to gambling.
The government did not respond to the notice, and the organisation filed a writ petition.
The High Court has made the Inspector General of Police, the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission, and the Law, Home Affairs, Information and Broadcasting, and Post and Telecommunications Ministries respondents in the ruling.
It also requires the government to explain why it should not be required to create a team to monitor online gambling 24/7.
Under the constitution and laws of Bangladesh, all forms of gambling are considered criminal offences.
Still, one newspaper report has estimated that as many as five million people in the country are addicted to gambling, according to The Business Standard.
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