Egypt Adds Betting Regulation to Digital Security Bill

The Egyptian government plans to tackle online betting through a broad Digital Security Law. The regulation is expected to be sent to Parliament within about six weeks. House of Representatives Communications and Information Technology Committee Chairman Ahmed Badawi announced this timeline on November 1.

Badawi said betting applications have defrauded hundreds of thousands of Egyptians. He stated that the applications target people aged 20 to 60, and that some users remained on them for 24 hours straight. A similar timeline had been given before. In May, Badawi said amendments to Law No. 175 on Combating Cybercrime (2018) would reach Parliament within a month, but that bill had not reached Parliament.

According to Badawi, the new law will combine amendments to the cybercrime law, legislation regulating children's use of social media, and a new regulation that will protect adults from the risks of technology. Under the planned changes, anyone who develops an application used in cybercrime could face up to 7 years in prison and a fine of 500,000 EGP. The law is said to target betting intermediaries and their representatives in Egypt, and will also cover those who promote the platforms or help citizens reach these sites.

Egypt has so far relied mainly on blocking. Badawi said many betting applications have been blocked, but the people behind them keep opening new platforms to get around the blocks. Arguing that the harsher penalties in the cybercrime law have significantly reduced electronic blackmail, Badawi also noted that penalties under that law can extend to life imprisonment.