Legal casino gambling age in Jordan
Jordan has no licensed casinos, no licensed betting market and no licensed online gambling. Gambling is dealt with mainly through the criminal law: the Penal Code (Law No. 16 of 1960) punishes running a public gambling house, being found in one and running an unauthorised lottery. The only lawful form of gambling for cash prizes that this review could identify is the Jordanian Charitable Lottery, which a 2019 regulation reserves to the General Union of Jordanian Charitable Societies. Proposals to open casinos for foreign visitors have surfaced several times since 2003, most notoriously in a 2007 agreement for a Dead Sea casino that was cancelled and later became a major political and judicial affair. This guide explains the legal framework, how it applies to online gambling, the position of players and what is known about enforcement.
Key points
- Articles 393 to 398 of the Penal Code (Law No. 16 of 1960) prohibit public gambling houses and unauthorised lotteries. Article 389, sometimes cited in this context, deals with begging and indecent conduct in public, not with gambling.
- There is no gambling regulator and no licensing regime for casinos, sports betting or online gambling. No casino operates in Jordan.
- The only authorised lottery with cash prizes is the Jordanian Charitable Lottery, run by the General Union of Jordanian Charitable Societies under a 2019 regulation of the Ministry of Social Development.
- A 2007 government agreement for a casino on the Dead Sea was annulled within days. A former tourism minister was impeached in 2011 and acquitted by the courts; the Court of Cassation upheld the acquittal in June 2014.
- No statute specifically addresses online gambling. Courts have applied the Penal Code gambling and lottery articles to online activity through the cybercrime law, now Law No. 17 of 2023, which also lets prosecutors and courts order content to be blocked.
Last reviewed: 7 October 2026.
Online casinos for Jordan
We may earn commission from links. Commission and paid placements do not affect casino ordering. Affiliate disclosure · How these listings work.
Vegas Casino Online
Sign Up400% up to
$500
Liberty Slots Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$259
Sloto'Cash Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$500
Lucky Tiger Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$1,000
Shazam Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$2,500
Casino Brango
Sign Up500% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
Vegas Casino Online
Sign Up400% up to
$500
Liberty Slots Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$259
Sloto'Cash Casino
Sign Up100% up to
$500
Lucky Tiger Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$1,000
Shazam Casino
Sign Up250% up to
$2,500
Casino Brango
Sign Up500% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
Historical development
Jordan’s general criminal code, the Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, has contained the country’s gambling offences since its enactment. The same 1960 code also applied in the West Bank, which was under Jordanian administration at the time, and its original text is reproduced in the Palestinian legislation database maintained by An-Najah National University (for example, Article 393 on public gambling houses). The code does not create any licensing route for casinos or betting, and it allows lotteries only where a competent authority has granted permission.
The first lottery regulation relevant today dates from 1972. It was replaced by the Jordanian Charitable Lottery Regulation of 2019, whose Article 16 repeals the Jordanian Charitable Lottery Regulation No. 17 of 1972. The lottery has therefore existed for more than half a century as a charitable fundraising device rather than as a commercial gambling product.
Casino proposals, 2003 to 2016
Despite the prohibition, Jordanian governments have repeatedly considered casinos aimed at foreign visitors. According to Al Jazeera’s reporting in September 2011, two casino licences with a 50-year term were issued in December 2003, when Faisal al-Fayez was prime minister. One of them went to the Ayla Corporation for sites in Aqaba and near the Sheikh Hussein Bridge on the border with Israel. Al Jazeera reported that the company still held the licence in 2011, although no casino had been built.
In February 2016 the then Deputy Prime Minister, Ali Abu al-Ragheb, raised the idea of casinos in Aqaba and the Dead Sea region at an investment seminar, according to World Casino Directory and Global Gaming Business magazine. World Casino Directory reported that Jordanians would not be admitted; GGB said authorities were weighing a ban on gaming by locals. GGB described gaming as illegal in Jordan at that time. No casino was opened as a result, and this review found no later government decision to authorise one.
The 2007 Dead Sea casino affair
The most significant episode in Jordan’s gambling history is the 2007 Dead Sea casino agreement, often called “Casinogate”. The account below is drawn from contemporary reporting and from the final court decision.
- The agreement (2007). According to documents reported by Al Jazeera, the Tourism Minister, Osama Dabbas, recommended the project on 5 August 2007, and on 10 September 2007 Prime Minister Marouf al-Bakhit signed a letter authorising him, on behalf of the Council of Ministers, to sign a contract with Oasis Holding Investment. Al Jazeera reported that the 50-year contract contained a confidentiality clause and a breach clause that would make the government liable for planning costs and future lost revenue.
- Cancellation. The agreement was annulled about a week after it was signed, according to Al Jazeera. The Jordan Times records that the project was cancelled in 2007 when Nader al-Dahabi’s government took office.
- Exposure to damages. Al Jazeera reported in 2011 that Oasis was still seeking damages and that the government had offered it in 2008 50 dunams of Dead Sea land for a hotel as part of a settlement attempt. Trade press in 2016 put the potential penalty for cancelling the contract at US$1.4 billion (GGB; World Casino Directory). This figure could not be verified from an official source, and this review found no published arbitral award or settlement.
- Parliamentary proceedings (2011). On 27 June 2011 the lower house of parliament voted to impeach Dabbas in connection with the case, according to Al Jazeera’s background note. In a separate vote in August 2011, parliament cleared Bakhit, who had again become prime minister in February 2011, and 13 members of his former cabinet. Bakhit said he had not been told that the agreement included a licence for casinos. Four deputies resigned in protest at the handling of the case (Al Jazeera, 10 August 2011).
- Court outcome (2013 to 2014). According to the Jordan Times, the Amman Criminal Court and the Court of Appeal acquitted Dabbas and four other defendants of charges including forgery, fraud and abuse of office. The trial court found that proposing a casino concept did not breach any law and that the treasury suffered no loss from the initial agreement. The Court of Cassation, Jordan’s highest court, upheld the acquittals on 8 June 2014.
The affair did not change the gambling law, but it illustrates two lasting features of the Jordanian position: casinos have been treated as a matter of government policy and contract rather than of statutory licensing, and any such project has been politically contentious.
Legal framework
The Penal Code: gambling houses
The gambling offences sit in the part of the Penal Code dealing with offences against public morals and order. The wording below follows the 1960 text as published in the An-Najah legislation database. This review checked the main amending laws of 2017 (Law No. 27 of 2017) and 2022 (Law No. 10 of 2022) and found that neither amends Articles 393 to 398. It could not consult the official consolidated text on a Jordanian government portal, so readers should confirm the current penalty levels there.
- Article 393 (public gambling house). A person who owns, occupies or uses a house, room or place and opens, keeps or uses it for unlawful gambling, knowingly allows another person to do so, or helps to manage it, is treated as keeping a public gambling house. The article defines “unlawful gambling” as including card games requiring skill and any other game in which the chances are not equal for all players, including the banker or those running the game or against whom the players play or bet (Article 393).
- Article 394 (keeping a gambling house). Keeping a public gambling house is punishable by imprisonment of up to six months and a fine of up to 50 dinars (Article 394).
- Article 395 (presence in a gambling house). Anyone found in a public gambling house, other than its keepers, is presumed to be there for unlawful gambling unless the contrary is proved. The penalty is a fine of up to five dinars for a first offence and, for a second or later offence, a fine of up to ten dinars, imprisonment of up to three months, or both (Article 395).
- Article 396 (seizure). Police may seize any instrument used or intended for unlawful gambling found in such premises, and the court may order it to be confiscated, destroyed or returned (Article 396).
- Article 398 treats a person who supervises or manages such premises as their keeper, according to a commentary by the Jordanian law firm Jordan Lawyer.
The gambling house offences are therefore aimed primarily at the organiser. Penalties for players are low and depend on presence in premises run for gambling.
The Penal Code: lotteries
Under Article 397, opening, keeping or using any place for a lottery “of whatever kind” is punishable by imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 50 dinars. Printing or publishing an advertisement for a lottery, or selling or distributing tickets, is punishable by a fine of up to 50 dinars. The article defines a lottery broadly as any method or scheme for selling or distributing property by lot or chance. Its final paragraph provides that the article does not apply to a lottery for which permission has been obtained from the competent authority. This exception is the legal basis for the charitable lottery described below.
Article 389 and its 2022 amendment
Article 389 is sometimes listed among Jordan’s gambling provisions, but its text does not concern gambling. Article 389 punishes indecent conduct in a public place, begging, collecting alms under false pretences, disturbing public order and loitering in suspicious circumstances. Law No. 10 of 2022 amended it to set a minimum prison term of three months for begging. Gambling in a street or public place is dealt with through the gambling house and lottery articles above, not through Article 389.
Cybercrime legislation
Jordan has no statute specifically on online gambling. The relevant general instrument is the cybercrime law. Law No. 27 of 2015 was replaced by the Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023, published in the Official Gazette on 13 August 2023. According to the Jordan Lawyer commentary, Article 30 of the 2023 law preserves the application of any heavier penalty provided in other legislation, and Article 33 allows the public prosecutor and the competent court to order platform operators to remove or block unlawful content, suspend users, preserve data or disclose user identities, with fines of JOD 15,000 to 30,000 for non-compliance. Human Rights Watch has criticised the 2023 law as hastily adopted and vaguely worded, chiefly with regard to freedom of expression. None of the sources consulted identifies a provision of the 2023 law aimed specifically at gambling.
Regulator and licensing model
Jordan follows a prohibition model: the law makes organised gambling a criminal offence and provides no licensing system for operators. There is no gambling regulator or gambling commission. Enforcement falls to the police and public prosecution under the Penal Code. The Ministry of Social Development has a role in authorising charitable fundraising, including the lottery.
The Jordanian Charitable Lottery Regulation of 2019 sets out the only authorised cash-prize lottery that this review could identify:
- Operator. The General Union of Jordanian Charitable Societies issues the lottery. Its administrative board sets the issue schedule, ticket prices, prize values and draw dates.
- Supervision. A supervisory committee chaired by the president of the Union’s board includes representatives of the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Social Development. Draws are held in public.
- Prize fund and proceeds. Prizes may not exceed 40% of the value of the issue. Ten per cent of net profits goes to the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the rest supports charitable work by the Union and its member societies.
- Exclusivity. Article 14 provides that no body other than the Union may be licensed to issue a lottery with cash prizes.
- Electronic issue. Article 4 allows the lottery to be issued by paper or electronic means.
No casino licence is in operation. The 2003 licences and the 2007 Dead Sea agreement described above were executive decisions, not licences under a gambling statute, and none produced a working casino.
Online gambling and enforcement
Jordanian law does not authorise any form of online casino, online sports betting or online poker, and no body issues licences for them. The only lawful remote product is the electronic issue of the charitable lottery permitted by Article 4 of the 2019 regulation. An online casino accessible from Jordan is therefore not lawful under Jordanian law, whatever licence it may hold abroad.
The Penal Code was drafted for physical premises, so its application online depends on the courts. Court decisions summarised by Jordan Lawyer show both approaches:
- In decision No. 2253/2020, the Salt Magistrates’ Criminal Court considered a charge under Articles 393 and 397 of the Penal Code, read with Article 15 of the cybercrime law then in force (Law No. 27 of 2015), against a defendant who ran online games in which players earned points that could later be sold. It acquitted him, holding that selling points differed from gambling against other players.
- In decision No. 1782/2019, the Irbid Magistrates’ Criminal Court convicted a café owner who allowed gambling at a table on his premises, together with the players found with cash. In decision No. 191/2021, an Amman court sitting on appeal acquitted defendants because dice and cash found in a home were only circumstantial evidence.
Blocking means directing internet service providers or platforms to prevent access to specified websites or content. Article 33 of the 2023 Cybercrime Law gives prosecutors and courts power to order removal or blocking of unlawful content. This review found no published list of blocked gambling websites, no official statement that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission maintains a gambling blocklist, and no Central Bank of Jordan rule specifically on gambling payments. Some unofficial guides say that offshore gambling sites are routinely blocked, but this could not be verified from an official source.
Advertising a lottery without permission is an offence under Article 397(2). No specific gambling advertising code was found.
Position of players
Jordanian law does punish players in some circumstances, but the offences are narrow and the penalties low:
- A person found in a public gambling house is presumed to be gambling unlawfully and faces a fine of up to five dinars for a first offence, rising to ten dinars or up to three months’ imprisonment, or both, for repeat offences (Article 395).
- Courts have convicted players found gambling for cash in a café that allowed gambling (Irbid, 2019), and have acquitted defendants where evidence of gambling was only circumstantial (Amman, 2021).
- No provision found in this review makes it an offence for an individual to place a stake with an offshore online casino from home. The Penal Code offences turn on premises, and the reported online cases concern organisers rather than players.
- This review found no reported prosecution of an individual player for gambling online.
These points should not be read as meaning that online gambling is lawful. Offering online gambling to people in Jordan is not permitted, the scope of the cybercrime law is broad, and public prosecutors may take a wider view than the cases summarised here. Buying a ticket in the authorised charitable lottery is lawful.
Taxation
Because there is no lawful gambling industry, Jordan has no gambling tax on casino or betting revenue. For the charitable lottery, the 2019 regulation channels proceeds rather than taxing them: at most 40% of the issue may be paid out in prizes, 10% of net profits goes to the Higher Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the remainder funds charitable activity (Charitable Lottery Regulation 2019). The regulation contains no provision on the tax treatment of prizes. This review could not verify how lottery prizes are treated under Jordan’s income tax legislation; readers should consult the Income and Sales Tax Department.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
Jordan has no gambling-specific consumer protection framework. There is no national self-exclusion register, no operator duty of care and no statutory minimum age for gambling, because gambling other than the charitable lottery is not lawful. The 2019 lottery regulation does not set a minimum age for buying tickets. This review found no gambling-specific helpline or support organisation in Jordan. People affected by gambling problems may seek help from general addiction and mental health services, and general guidance is available in our responsible gambling guide.
Players who use offshore online casinos have no local regulator to complain to and no Jordanian dispute resolution route. Any complaint would depend on the rules of the foreign jurisdiction, if any, that licenses the operator.
Recent and upcoming developments
- Cybercrime Law No. 17 of 2023. In force since 2023, it replaced the 2015 law and expanded the powers of prosecutors and courts to order blocking and removal of content. It does not contain a provision aimed specifically at gambling, according to the sources consulted.
- Law No. 10 of 2022. The 2022 amendments to the Penal Code tightened penalties for begging under Article 389 but left the gambling and lottery articles unchanged.
- Casino proposals. No casino proposal has been adopted since the 2016 statements, and this review found no bill, draft regulation or government decision on casinos or online gambling dated 2024 to 2026.
- Dead Sea claims. The criminal case ended with the Court of Cassation’s ruling of 8 June 2014. The status of any civil or arbitral claim by Oasis Holding could not be verified.
Casino listings for players in Jordan
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that an operator is licensed in Jordan; no online casino is licensed there, and Jordan has no gambling regulator or register of licensed operators. Offering online casino games to people in Jordan is not permitted, and the listings must not be read as an indication that playing is lawful.
Vegas Casino Online
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Liberty Slots Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 18
Slots.lv
100% up to
$2,000
+ 20 Spins
Sloto'Cash Casino
100% up to
∞
Casino Extreme
200 Spins
Bovada Casino
100% up to
$1,000
Casino Brango
500% up to
$/€100
+ 500 Spins
Lucky Tiger Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 55
Shazam Casino
Exclusive No Deposit Bonus
$ 50
Miami Club Casino
50 Spins
Lincoln Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 18
Highway Casino
$ 30
Rich Palms Casino
250% up to
∞
Red Stag Casino
25% up to
∞
Yabby Casino
202% up to
∞
Uptown Aces
250% up to
∞
PlayCroco Casino
300% up to
∞
+ 60 Spins
DuckyLuck Casino
500% up to
$/€2,500
+ 150 Spins
Fair Go Casino
200% up to
∞
Drake Casino
300% up to
$2,000
Las Vegas USA Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Slots Plus
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Sun Palace Casino
No Deposit Bonus
$ 20
Ignition Casino
200% up to
$100
.jpg?x75995){kind=logo}
Everygame Classic Casino
200% up to
∞
+ 50 Spins
Slots Empire
230% up to
$7,500
Red Dog Casino
Slots And Casino
500% up to
∞
+ 150 Spins
Slotsroom Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Black Lotus Casino
300% up to
$7,000
+ 45 Spins
El Royale Casino
230% up to
∞
Casino Max
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
JacksPay
200% up to
$2,000
Spinfinity Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Lucky Creek
50 Spins
Jackpot Capital
25% up to
∞
Slotastic
250% up to
∞
Ripper Casino
25% up to
∞
Las Atlantis Casino
$ 2,500
Ozwin Casino
$ 10
Grand Eagle
200% up to
$5,500
+ 30 Spins
Roaring 21 Casino
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
LadyLuck Casino
100 Spins
Grande Vegas
150% up to
$300
Treasure Mile
200% up to
$/€4,000
+ 50 Spins
Cherry Jackpot
400% up to
∞
+ 20 Spins
Borgata Online Casino
TropicanaCasino
BetOnline Casino
100 Spins
Grand Rush
200% up to
$4,000
+ 40 Spins
Jazz Casino
10% up to
$250
BetMGM Casino NJ
100% up to
$1,000
Sources and further reading
- An-Najah National University, Maqam legislation database, Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, Article 389 (accessed 7 October 2026).
- An-Najah National University, Maqam legislation database, Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, Article 393 (accessed 7 October 2026).
- An-Najah National University, Maqam legislation database, Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, Article 394 (accessed 7 October 2026).
- An-Najah National University, Maqam legislation database, Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, Article 395 (accessed 7 October 2026).
- An-Najah National University, Maqam legislation database, Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, Article 396 (accessed 7 October 2026).
- An-Najah National University, Maqam legislation database, Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, Article 397 (accessed 7 October 2026).
- Jordan Bar Association, Law No. 27 of 2017 amending the Penal Code (accessed 7 October 2026).
- Official Gazette text (copy hosted at aci.org.jo), Law No. 10 of 2022 amending the Penal Code (accessed 7 October 2026).
- JordanianLaw.com, Jordanian Charitable Lottery Regulation of 2019 (accessed 7 October 2026).
- Ahmad Mansour, Jordan Lawyer, Gambling offences in Jordanian law (2021).
- Ahmad Abdulsalam, Jordan Lawyer, Main changes in the Jordanian Cybercrime Law (2023).
- Human Rights Watch, World Report 2024: Jordan (2024).
- Al Jazeera, Jordan’s PM approved controversial casino (2011).
- Al Jazeera, Jordan PM cleared on corruption charges (2011).
- Al Jazeera, Background: the key players (2011).
- Al Jazeera, Ex-PM Fayez pushed for casino deal in 2003 (2011).
- Jordan Times, Cassation Court upholds ‘casino file’ ruling (2014).
- Global Gaming Business, Could there be a Dead Sea casino? (2016).
- World Casino Directory News, Jordan considering casinos at Dead Sea and other locations, no locals allowed (2016).
