Nepal’s telecommunications regulator has ordered all internet service providers in the country to immediately block every betting app and related website, executing a cabinet-level governance directive that marks the most sweeping enforcement action against online gambling in the country’s history.
The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) issued the blocking directive following a ministerial instruction, after the government’s Council of Ministers approved a 100-point governance reform agenda. Item 42 of that agenda specifically directed the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology to shut down all betting apps and associated websites within 24 hours. The NTA confirmed that all identified platforms have since been blocked. Members of the public have been asked to report any platforms still operating in violation of the directive directly to the NTA by phone or email.
What changed in March 2026 was not the law itself, as it had already been in place, but rather the scope and scale of enforcement. The Muluki Criminal Code 2074, passed in 2017 in Nepal, had already explicitly prohibited and criminalized gambling and betting. The NTA had already been taking action against individual foreign gambling websites under the Telecommunications Act 1997. The NTA had already obtained court orders for blocking these websites, targeting poker and betting websites that were available to Nepali citizens.
The escalation in March 2026 is from this history of selective enforcement of anti-gambling laws, as it now targets all betting applications and websites available through any electronic means. The penalty for people caught operating and facilitating betting websites under the criminal code is up to one year in prison and a fine of up to NPR 10,000. The Advertisement (Regulation) Act 2066 also prohibits the promotion of gambling activity. The penalties for people caught encouraging and incentivizing betting through advertisements are similar.
Nepal is a total prohibition jurisdiction. It has never licensed online gambling, conducted regulatory consultation on the subject, or created any framework through which international operators could seek lawful market access. No guidance from the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA), the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) or Curaçao licensing bodies specifically addresses Nepal, and the country does not appear on published restricted markets lists from any of the major licensing jurisdictions. That absence of formal guidance does not create a safe harbour.
Offshore operators who have been serving Nepali users carry direct exposure under the Muluki Criminal Code, with no compliance exemption available under either local law or the rules of their licensing authority. The March 2026 action closes what had effectively been an enforcement gap in a jurisdiction where prohibition was always absolute but execution had remained selective.
Map indicating regional market context. (Source: Canva)
Nepal’s cabinet-level directive enters in an environment that is seeing increasing enforcement of online gambling regulations in South and Southeast Asia. Bangladesh has a total ban on online gambling with ISP-level blocking. Enforcement activities have been documented in 2024 and 2025.
In India, state-level ISP blocking directives have been confirmed in Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland and Telangana under the Information Technology Act, following rulings issued during the same period. Where those actions have largely targeted individual platforms or categories of gambling activity, Nepal’s directive covers all betting apps and websites simultaneously, making it one of the more comprehensive single enforcement actions the region has seen.
The NTA has invited the public to report any betting app or website found still operating in breach of the directive. Reports can be submitted to Surya Prasad Lamichhane, Deputy Director of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority.
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