United States
United Kingdom
Brazil
Australia
Pakistan
Pakistan is an Islamic republic where gambling is broadly prohibited under the Prevention of Gambling Act 1977 and Islamic law, with no licensing for sports betting or prediction markets and active PTA/NCCIA blocking of offshore operators. The sole legal carve-out is tote/pari-mutuel betting on horse racing at authorized provincial race clubs (Lahore, Karachi), legalized in 1979 and taxed under provincial law. Online sports betting and prediction markets are prohibited; horse-race betting is tolerated within that narrow club-based exception.
The Prevention of Gambling Act 1977 (modeled on the British-era Public Gambling Act 1867) prohibits virtually all gambling in Pakistan, grounded in Islamic law’s prohibition of maisir. There is no national gambling regulator and no licensing pathway for online sports betting, which is illegal; the PTA routinely blocks betting domains and apps. The one acknowledged legal exception is pari-mutuel ("tote") betting on horse racing, legalized in 1979 on a horse-breeding rationale and permitted only to authorized race clubs such as the Lahore Race Club and Karachi Race Club, with wagers taxed under provincial statutes (e.g. the Punjab Horse-Race Betting Tax Act, up to 20% of stakes) — classified tolerated rather than regulated because it is a province-level concession outside any dedicated national regulator and on-course activity appears intermittent.
In an August 2025 enforcement action the NCCIA declared 46 apps illegal — including 1xBet, Bet365, Dafabet, Betway and the prediction platform Kalshi — directing the PTA to block them under PECA. Prediction markets have no legal basis and are prohibited. No statutory betting age is published.
Online sports betting is prohibited in Pakistan, so no operators are listed for this market.
Support in Pakistan
Gambling is prohibited in Pakistan under the Prevention of Gambling Act 1977, with narrow exceptions such as licensed tote betting on horse racing. There is no national responsible-gambling scheme or gambling-specific helpline. If gambling is affecting your wellbeing, free general mental-health support is available from Umang on +92 311 7786264 (24/7) or the Rozan Counseling Helpline on 0304-111-1741 — these are general services, not gambling specialists. For dedicated gambling support, use the free international service Gambling Therapy (gamblingtherapy.org). Pakistan has no legal regulated commercial gambling and no self-exclusion register.