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Brunei gambling laws for operators: illegal to offer

ProhibitedUpdated 2 Jun 20262 Jun 2026Framework 2014Restricted

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Quick AI overview2 Jun 2026
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All gambling is illegal under a dual framework of the secular Common Gaming Houses Act and the Syariah Penal Code Order.

OverviewOverview built from public sources. An in-depth review of Brunei is available on request. Request it

Active licensees~0 Licence term—

Product by product

Online gambling products in Brunei: status, licence, tax and rules
Product	Status
Online betting · Online casino · Online poker · Lottery	Banned

Regulator and player protection in Brunei

Regulator

Ministry of Home Affairs (civil enforcement under Common Gaming Houses Act) & Ministry of Religious Affairs (Sharia guidance and enforcement under Syariah Penal Code)

Application authority and enforcement body

Mandatory RG controls

No limit imposed on players

Deposit limits or reality checks the law requires operators to offer

Advertising stance

Banned or near-banned

Whether you can run TV / sponsorship / paid-social campaigns

Heads-up for operators

Changes coming in Brunei

Note
No reform contemplated. Prohibition is enforced under both the Common Gaming Houses Act and the Syariah Penal Code Order, 2013.

Not yet in force: drafts, laws adopted without a start date, and sections of the law still to be commenced. An item moves to the timeline below on the day it takes effect.

Licence Types in Brunei

Licence	Regulator	Term	Notes
No gambling licences issued	—	—	All gambling banned under Sharia.

Licensing model

Brunei has a total prohibition on gambling enforced through a dual legal framework. The secular Common Gaming Houses Act (Chapter 28) criminalizes gambling under civil law, while the Syariah Penal Code Order, 2013, provides a parallel prohibition under Islamic law.

Gambling tax and fees in Brunei

Detail

No legal gambling industry.

Year-1 cost: Not applicable

As all gambling is illegal in Brunei, there is no licensing framework and therefore no compliance costs associated with legal operation.

Line item	Amount	Notes
Application fee (one-time)	Not applicable	All gambling is prohibited; no licenses are issued.
Annual license fee (Online Casino)	Not applicable	All gambling is prohibited.
Annual license fee (Online Sports)	Not applicable	All gambling is prohibited.
Annual license fee (Lottery)	Not applicable	All gambling is prohibited.
Operator GGR Tax	Not applicable	No legal gambling sector exists.

Year 1 estimate

Not applicable

There is no legal gambling market in Brunei.

Which foreign licences Brunei accepts

Brunei recognises none of these 8 foreign licences.

BannedMalta (MGA) · United Kingdom (UKGC) · Gibraltar (GRA) · Isle of Man (GSC) · Curaçao (CGB) · Kahnawake (KGCB) · Anjouan · Alderney (AGCC)

All offshore gambling is illegal. Sites are actively blocked and participation is criminally prosecuted.

Bonus rules: welcome bonuses banned

Bonuses bannedInducement ads: Banned

As all forms of gambling are illegal, there is no regulatory framework for bonuses or promotions. The act of offering or claiming a bonus is subsumed by the primary offense of participating in a prohibited gambling activity.

What the player can claim

Welcome bonus: Banned
VIP schemes: Banned
Loyalty schemes: Banned
Cashback: Banned

all verticals

All promotions, including welcome bonuses and retention tools, are illegal as they are considered inducements for a prohibited activity.

What the operator can advertise

Channels off-limits: all channels

Penalties: Managing a gambling operation carries a penalty of up to BND 20,000 and 12 months' imprisonment.

The absence of documented actions against international operators for advertising breaches indicates that Brunei's enforcement priority is on-the-ground activity.

Recent advertising-violation cases

Date	Operator	Violation	Source
26 Jun 2024	Local gambling operation	16 foreign nationals were arrested for participating in an illegal gambling operation in Mukim Kilanas.	Focus Gaming News
17 Oct 2023	Local gambling operation	17 individuals were arrested for engaging in illegal pai gow gambling.	Focus Gaming News
29 Aug 2022	Local gambling operation	Six individuals were detained in a raid on a suspected gambling den utilizing a digital gambling machine.	Helo BN

Sources1 2

Advertising: banned or near-banned

Brunei maintains a comprehensive prohibition on all forms of gambling, covering both online casino and sports betting activities. Consequently, all gambling advertising is strictly banned across the country. Because the prohibition is blanket, there is no difference in rules between Sportsbook and Online Casino advertising; both are entirely disallowed.

Channel	Status	Vertical & Platform Split (2026)
Google Search Ads	Banned	Google's advertising policies prohibit the promotion of gambling content in countries where it is illegal. Given Brunei's total prohibition on all forms of gambling, no gambling-related keywords or ads are permitted.3 4
App Store Publishing	Banned	Apple App Review Guideline 5.3 and Google Play's gambling policies explicitly prohibit real-money gambling apps in regions where gambling is illegal. As all forms of gambling are illegal in Brunei, no such applications can be published in the country.3 4
Google/Apple App Store Ads	Banned	Promoted listings and Universal App Campaigns for gambling applications are not permitted in Brunei. This aligns with the country's strict prohibition on gambling and the inability to publish such apps.3 5
Meta (FB/IG)	Banned	Meta's advertising policies require advertisers to obtain prior written permission and provide evidence of a regulator-issued license to run gambling ads. Since gambling is illegal in Brunei and no licenses are issued, all gambling advertising on Facebook and Instagram is prohibited.3 4
TV & Radio	Banned	Brunei's Broadcasting Act (Chapter 180) and its subsidiary Code of Practice for Advertising explicitly prohibit the promotion of gambling acts/activities on television and radio. This includes any content that could directly or indirectly promote gambling.3 6
Sponsorships	Banned	Due to the complete prohibition of all gambling activities and the absence of any legal gambling operators or licensing regime in Brunei, all forms of gambling-related sponsorships, including jersey, stadium, or naming rights, are implicitly banned.3 4
Digital OOH	Banned	All gambling advertising is prohibited in Brunei. This extends to Digital Out-of-Home formats such as billboards and transit advertising. The Public Entertainment Act (Cap. 181) and the Syariah Penal Code Order, 2013, reinforce the broad prohibition against any activity or promotion associated with gambling.3 4 7

Channel rules for Brunei reflect each platform's published policy and the sources numbered in each row (listed under Methodology & sources). Verify with the local regulator and your ad-platform account manager before launching.

How Brunei enforces against unlicensed operators

Brunei applies a zero-tolerance policy, and enforcement intensity is high. The Royal Brunei Police Force, under the Ministry of Home Affairs, conducts consistent raids on illegal gambling operations, while the Ministry of Religious Affairs provides a parallel track for prosecution under Sharia law.

March 2024: The Ministry of Home Affairs officially banned all claw crane prize machines and revoked existing licenses, following a fatwa from the State Mufti's Office.
June 2025: Police arrested 17 individuals in a raid targeting the illegal traditional dice game 'katam-katam'.
January 2025: Authorities arrested 16 people for alleged illegal gambling activities, including cock-fighting.

Sources8 9 10

Licensed operators: none

As of 2 Jun 2026, no operator holds an active online licence in Brunei.

Traps operators hit in Brunei

Specific operational risks that have caught new entrants in this market. Each item is country-specific. Generic gambling-ops issues (KYC, RG tools) are not included unless they have a local twist.

Assuming any form of gambling is permissible
There are zero legal avenues for gambling in Brunei. The prohibition is absolute, covering online, land-based, lotteries, and even amusement games with an element of chance, like claw machines. Any operation is considered a criminal enterprise.
Sources2 11
Underestimating the dual legal framework
Offenders face prosecution under both the secular Common Gaming Houses Act and the Syariah Penal Code Order. Under this dual-track system the prohibition is comprehensive and penalties are severe, with enforcement from both civil police and religious authorities.
Sources2
Targeting players with offshore licenses
Brunei does not recognize any foreign gambling licenses. The government actively blocks access to offshore gambling sites, and both organizing and participating in such games are subject to criminal prosecution.
Sources2

Timeline: rules in force

March 2024
Claw machines officially banned by government
Following the fatwa, the Minister of Home Affairs announced a complete ban on claw machines under the Public Entertainment Act, revoking all operating licenses.
Source: 8
December 2023
State Mufti's Office issues fatwa on claw machines
A religious edict (fatwa) was issued declaring claw crane arcade machines 'haram' (forbidden) due to elements of chance and wagering.
Source: 11
2019
Full implementation of Syariah Penal Code
The final phases of the Syariah Penal Code Order were implemented, and the religious prohibition on gambling became fully enforceable.
Source: 2
Pre-2013
Common Gaming Houses Act provides secular prohibition
The Common Gaming Houses Act (Chapter 28) is the primary secular law criminalizing the operation of gaming houses and participation in lotteries or betting.
Source: 2
2013
Syariah Penal Code Order introduced
Brunei enacted the Syariah Penal Code Order, a parallel legal framework under Islamic law that criminalizes gambling (maisir).
Source: 2

Operator myths vs reality in Brunei

Common assumptions about gambling licensing that turn out to be wrong in practice.

Myth
A foreign license from a reputable jurisdiction like Malta or the UK provides legal cover.
Reality
This is incorrect. Brunei does not recognize any foreign gambling licenses. All offshore gambling is illegal, sites are actively blocked, and any local operations supporting them are subject to raids and prosecution.
Sources2
Myth
The ban is only based on Sharia law and doesn't apply to non-Muslims.
Reality
False. The prohibition is enforced through a dual legal framework. The secular Common Gaming Houses Act applies to everyone in Brunei, regardless of religion, and provides a separate basis for criminal charges alongside the Syariah Penal Code.
Sources2
Myth
Authorities only focus on large-scale illegal operations.
Reality
This is a dangerous assumption. Police reports confirm that enforcement actions target all levels of activity, from larger online rings to small, informal games of pai gow or katam-katam in private homes. There is no 'safe' level of illegal gambling.
Sources9 12

Markets that work like Brunei

Compared on what our records hold for each country: whether online casino, betting, poker and lottery are licensed, state-run or banned, the licensing model, what the operator tax is levied on and its band, how most advertising channels are treated, and how foreign licences are treated. A point we hold for only one of the two countries counts for nothing.

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MaldivesAI overview
Online casino, betting, poker and lottery banned; most ad channels banned; foreign licences mostly banned.

Methodology & sources

This page is a Quick AI overview: a summary of public information, not yet checked against the law or the regulator. Treat it as a starting point. It has not yet been through our Deep AI Scan.

How we research Ask us to run the Deep AI Scan for Brunei

Documents cited on this page

Looking for the player guide?

For consumer-facing information about gambling in Brunei (tax on winnings, where to play legally, self-exclusion options), see the Brunei player guide.

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Disclaimer. This page reflects the law as we understood it on 2 Jun 2026. Rules change: always check the current position with Ministry of Home Affairs (civil enforcement under Common Gaming Houses Act) & Ministry of Religious Affairs (Sharia guidance and enforcement under Syariah Penal Code). We are not a legal adviser.

Regulator and player protection in Brunei

Licence Types in Brunei

Gambling tax and fees in Brunei

Year-1 cost: Not applicable

Which foreign licences Brunei accepts

Bonus rules: welcome bonuses banned

Advertising: banned or near-banned

How Brunei enforces against unlicensed operators

Licensed operators: none

Traps operators hit in Brunei

Assuming any form of gambling is permissible

Underestimating the dual legal framework

Targeting players with offshore licenses

Claw machines officially banned by government

State Mufti's Office issues fatwa on claw machines

Full implementation of Syariah Penal Code

Common Gaming Houses Act provides secular prohibition

Syariah Penal Code Order introduced

Operator myths vs reality in Brunei

Markets that work like Brunei

Documents cited on this page