The Mongolian government finalizes a bill that imposes a complete ban on all forms of online betting within the country’s borders, classifying it as a criminal offense. The proposed law, set to be urgently submitted to Parliament, holds individuals criminally liable for promoting, organizing, or supporting platforms like 1xBet.

🤔 $500 Million Drains to Russia?

Lately, 1xBet makes waves online, with claims surfacing that Mongolia loses $500 million annually to Russia through this betting platform. The government, now calling online gambling a modern-day plague, finally decides to take action.

🔫 Websites and Social Media Purge

Authorities launch a full-scale crackdown on online betting, shutting down 25 domains and 9 websites linked to 1xBet and beyond. They petition Meta (META) to remove over 100 gambling-related accounts and push to block betting apps from the Apple App Store and other platforms. Next, they aim to amend the Licensing Law to ban all paid predictions and betting games requiring permits.

🐁🐈‍⬛ The Cat-and-Mouse Game Begins

Even with legal bans, betting operators always find workarounds, changing domains, shifting offshore, and encouraging users to rely on VPNs. China, for example, imposes heavy fines and even hands out prison sentences for online gambling, yet it thrives underground, with many players moving to Macau and offshore platforms.

•  Similarly, Russia cracks down on 1xBet in 2014, blocking its domain and sentencing one of its founders to 3 years in prison. Yet, the platform still operates under different names, reportedly with high-level political ties.

 Ban or Regulate? The Big Question

3 years ago, Mongolia considers legalizing casinos while debating a Betting and Lottery Law. That proposal requires betting operators to have at least ₮1 billion in capital and local servers in Mongolia.

Now, the big question…  Does Mongolia declare war on online betting or take a more strategic approach by regulating it? With examples from total bans to tight regulation, the government has plenty to consider before making its next move.