Online gambling law by Asian country

Thailand prohibits almost all gambling: the long-standing Gambling Act makes most betting illegal, with only narrow exceptions (the state lottery and limited licensed horse racing). There is no legal online-casino regime, so offshore and crypto casinos operate outside the law for Thai players, and the authorities actively block gambling sites and pursue operators. Critically for a publisher, promoting illegal gambling is treated as an offence in itself, and Thai authorities have moved against online-gambling advertising and the people who run it. That is why Gambling Law Asia lists no operators and carries no links for Thailand — this is information and legality content only. A long-discussed proposal to legalise regulated land-based casino-entertainment complexes has been debated but, as a contested policy that may or may not pass, we do not state it as settled law. (The general prohibition, the lottery/horse-racing exceptions, the promotion-is-an-offence stance and the casino-complex proposal are from our regulatory research and public reporting; verify the current Gambling Act provisions and any new legislation against the primary source before relying on them legally.)

Sri Lanka permits a small number of licensed land-based casinos (in Colombo, serving mainly tourists) under colonial-era and later gaming and betting legislation, but there is no licensed online-casino regime — offshore and crypto casinos are not authorised for Sri Lankan players. The government has been moving to formalise and tax the gaming sector, including establishing a dedicated gambling regulatory authority, which signals tighter, not looser, control of promotion and advertising. With no online licensing and an explicitly restrictive posture on advertising, the safe and honest position is that promoting online gambling to Sri Lankans is not a clear legal lane. Gambling Law Asia therefore lists no operators and carries no links for Sri Lanka — legality and information content only. (The licensed-land-based-casino position, the absence of an online regime and the move to create a gambling regulatory authority are from our regulatory research and public reporting; verify the current Gaming/Betting legislation and the status of the new authority against the primary source before relying on them.)

South Korea is one of the strictest gambling jurisdictions in the world. Gambling by Korean citizens is generally a criminal offence under the Criminal Act, and — unusually — the prohibition can reach citizens who gamble abroad, not only at home. Only narrow state-run exceptions exist (the lottery, certain sports betting, racing, and a single domestic casino that admits Korean nationals, Kangwon Land); every other casino in the country is foreigner-only. There is no legal online-casino route for citizens, offshore and crypto sites are illegal for them, and the authorities aggressively block sites and prosecute operators and promoters. Advertising and facilitating illegal gambling are themselves offences, with enforcement against online-gambling promotion. Gambling Law Asia lists no operators and carries no links for South Korea — information and legality content only. (The Criminal Act prohibition including the extraterritorial reach for citizens, the state-run exceptions, the foreigner-only casino rule with the Kangwon Land exception, and the criminalisation of promotion are from our regulatory research and public reporting; verify the current statutes against the primary source before relying on them legally.)

PAGCOR

The Philippines is unusual in Asia: it has a formal regulator, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), and a licensing framework for gambling. But the picture for an offshore-facing publisher is hostile, not open. The offshore-licensing scheme that once served foreign players (the so-called POGO sector) became the target of a major government crackdown and was ordered shut down, amid links to crime — a clear signal of the direction of travel. Domestically-licensed online gambling for Philippine residents exists under PAGCOR but is tightly regulated, and promoting unlicensed or offshore operators to players carries real legal and reputational risk. Because the safe, honest posture is to recommend no operator and rely only on the licensed regulator's own information, Gambling Law Asia lists no operators and carries no links for the Philippines — legality and information content only. (The PAGCOR regulatory role, the POGO crackdown and shutdown order, and the tightly-regulated domestic-licensing position are from our regulatory research and public reporting; verify PAGCOR's current rules and the POGO legislation against the primary source before relying on them.)

Japan broadly prohibits gambling under its Penal Code, with narrow exceptions (the public sports — horse, boat, bicycle and motorcycle racing — the lottery and football pools, plus integrated-resort casinos being introduced under a separate, heavily-conditioned regime). For online casinos the position is stark: playing at an offshore online casino is treated as a crime for residents, and a 2025 amendment to Japan's gambling-control law specifically targeted the promotion, ranking and review of offshore casinos — making affiliate marketing of these sites itself unlawful, with enforcement that has reportedly included an arrest connected to an affiliate platform. There is no legal offshore online-casino route for residents, and promoting one is exactly the criminalised act. Gambling Law Asia therefore lists no operators and carries no links for Japan — information and legality content only. (The Penal Code prohibition with its narrow exceptions, the integrated-resort regime, the treatment of offshore online play as a crime, and the 2025 affiliate-promotion ban with reported enforcement are from our regulatory research and public reporting; verify the current Penal Code provisions and the 2025 amendment against the primary source before relying on them legally.)

India's gambling law is fragmented and tightening. Historically gambling was a state subject governed by the old Public Gambling Act and varied state laws, producing a patchwork where some states ban online gambling outright and the legal status of online "games of skill" versus "games of chance" has been heavily litigated. The direction of travel is clearly more restrictive: the central government has moved to regulate — and in significant respects prohibit — real-money online gaming, alongside aggressive blocking of offshore betting and casino sites and crackdowns on their advertising and surrogate promotion. Promoting offshore real-money gambling to Indian players is increasingly treated as unlawful, and several high-profile advertising and influencer-promotion cases have followed. The honest, safe posture is to recommend no operator. Gambling Law Asia lists no operators and carries no links for India — legality and information content only. (The state-subject history, the skill-vs-chance distinction, the central real-money-gaming legislation and the crackdown on offshore promotion are from our regulatory research and public reporting; verify the applicable state laws and the current central legislation against the primary source before relying on them legally.)

Indonesia bans gambling comprehensively. As the world's largest Muslim-majority country, all forms of gambling are illegal under the Criminal Code, with no licensed casinos and no legal online-gambling regime of any kind. Online gambling (known locally as "judi online") is treated as a serious problem by the state, which blocks enormous numbers of gambling sites and has run a high-profile, government-led campaign against it — including criminal action against players, operators and, importantly for a publisher, the people who promote online gambling. Promotion and facilitation are themselves offences, and there have been widely-reported arrests of those marketing online gambling. There is no legal route and promoting one is criminal. Gambling Law Asia lists no operators and carries no links for Indonesia — information and legality content only. (The comprehensive Criminal Code prohibition, the absence of any licensed gambling, the large-scale site-blocking and the criminalisation of promotion with reported arrests are from our regulatory research and public reporting; verify the current Criminal Code and electronic-information-law provisions against the primary source before relying on them legally.)

Malaysia broadly prohibits gambling. Betting is restricted under long-standing legislation such as the Betting Act and the Common Gaming Houses Act, and for the country's Muslim majority gambling is additionally forbidden under Sharia law administered at the state level. There is one licensed land-based casino (Genting Highlands) and some licensed lotteries and racing for non-Muslims, but there is no legal online-casino regime — offshore and crypto casinos are not authorised for Malaysian players. The authorities block gambling sites and enforce against operators and promoters, and there has been reported action against influencers and others advertising online gambling. Because promoting unlicensed online gambling is not a safe legal lane, Gambling Law Asia lists no operators and carries no links for Malaysia — information and legality content only. (The Betting Act / Common Gaming Houses Act framework, the Sharia-law overlay for Muslims, the single licensed casino and the enforcement against online-gambling promotion are from our regulatory research and public reporting; verify the current statutes and any state Sharia provisions against the primary source before relying on them legally.)