PAKISTAN

Pakistan is one of the most strictly banned officially, but at the same time one of the most active actually Tier 3 gambling markets in South Asia. The country's legislation completely prohibits casinos, bookmakers and any form of gambling, but online betting, slots, crash games and live betting through foreign platforms form a large-scale shadow market.

The Pakistani market is characterized by the cult popularity of cricket, the rapid growth of mobile Internet, a young digital audience and the active use of alternative payment solutions.

Online casinos in Pakistan

Online casinos are officially banned in Pakistan, but foreign gaming platforms are in consistently high demand.

Total ban on national online casinos.
Massive use of offshore platforms.
High demand for slots and crash games.
Mobile traffic dominance.
No local licensing.

Online gambling is fully developing outside the official legal field.

Land-based casinos and gaming halls

Land-based casinos and slot machines in Pakistan are completely banned throughout the country.

Complete ban on casinos and machines.
Lack of legal gaming halls.
Criminal liability for organization.
Religious and state prohibitions.
Complete absence of tourist offline gambling.

Offline gambling as an industry is absent in a legal format.

Sports betting and betting

Sports betting is the most popular gambling destination among Pakistani audiences, despite the official ban.

• Cricket (overall leader).
• Football.
• Kabaddi.
• Tennis.
• Esports.

Cricket forms the vast majority of all shadow bookmaking turnover.

Regulation and licences

Gambling regulation in Pakistan belongs to one of the most rigid and religiously oriented models in the world.

Complete state ban on gambling.
No licenses for casinos and bookmakers.
Mass site blocking.
Control of banking operations.
Criminal liability for participation.

Despite this, the shadow online market continues to expand rapidly.

Payment methods

Pakistan is one of the fastest growing mobile and alternative payment markets in the region.

Bank cards.
Bank transfers.
Mobile wallets (Easypaisa, JazzCash).
Electronic payments.
Growing use of cryptocurrencies.

Mobile wallets play a key role in shadow transactions.

Popular games and formats

• Cricket betting.
• Crash games.
• Video slots.
• Live sports betting.
• Fast arcade formats.

Instant game mechanics show the greatest growth.

Mobile gambling

Pakistan is an almost entirely mobile online gambling market.

Absolute dominance of smartphones.
The rapid growth of cheap mobile internet.
Games via mobile browsers.
Deposits through mobile wallets.
Young and overactive digital audience.

Mobile traffic forms almost the entire volume of online activity.

Advertising and responsible play

Gambling advertising is completely banned in Pakistan.

Complete ban on direct advertising.
Internet censorship and domain blocking.
Use of hidden advertising channels.
Promotion through Telegram and social networks.
Lack of government responsible play programs.

The market is developing completely outside the official advertising field.

Why Pakistan is a Tier 3 market

• a complete religious-state ban on gambling;
• huge population;
• cricket's cult popularity;
• mass distribution of mobile Internet;
• active shadow online segment.

Pakistan is one of the most legally closed, yet one of the most demographically powerful Tier 3 gambling markets in the world. It is dominated by online cricket betting, crash games and slots via overseas platforms. For operators, this is a market of hidden gigantic potential with maximum regulatory risks, for players - constant demand for fast, mobile and affordable gambling formats.