Gambling in Palestine: Laws, Lotteries and Online Betting

Published by Casino News Daily editorial teamReviewed byFilip RadulovicOur editorial approach

Gambling in the Palestinian territories is governed by a patchwork of older penal codes and a small number of more recent decree-laws, and there is no licensing system for casinos, betting or online gambling. In the parts of the West Bank administered by the Palestinian Authority (PA), the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 penalises running gambling houses and unlicensed lotteries; in the Gaza Strip, the Mandate-era Penal Code No. 74 of 1936 remains the basic criminal law. A 2018 decree-law on cybercrime makes it an offence to set up or promote online gambling. The territories had one casino, in Jericho, which opened in 1998 and has been closed since 2000. This guide sets out what the sources show, and notes where the law is thin or could not be verified.

Key points

No authority in the Palestinian territories licenses casinos, sports betting or online gambling, and no casino currently operates.
In the West Bank, Articles 393 to 398 of the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 penalise running a public gambling place, being found in one, and running or advertising an unlicensed lottery.
Article 23 of Decree-Law No. 10 of 2018 on Cybercrime penalises creating a website, app or account to run, facilitate or promote gambling, with at least six months’ imprisonment or a fine of 500 to 1,000 Jordanian dinars, or both.
The Jericho casino, opened in September 1998 for a mainly Israeli clientele, closed shortly after the Second Intifada began in September 2000; reported discussions about reopening it in 2022 did not lead to a decision to reopen.
Decree-Law No. 39 of 2022 on anti-money laundering does not list casinos among the businesses it supervises, reflecting the absence of a lawful casino sector.

Last reviewed: 14 October 2026.

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Historical development

The legal landscape reflects successive administrations. The Penal Code No. 74 of 1936, enacted during the British Mandate, is the penal code applied in the Gaza Strip (UNODC SHERLOC copy of the Penal Code No. 74 of 1936). In the West Bank, the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960 continues to apply. The legislation database of An-Najah National University records that this code is in force in the West Bank and lists amendments made both by Israeli military orders and by PA decree-laws (Maqam, Penal Code No. 16 of 1960).

Under the Oslo arrangements, the West Bank was divided into Areas A, B and C. According to a 2010 fact sheet of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Israel retains authority over law enforcement and planning in Area C, which makes up approximately 62% of the West Bank (OCHA, Area C fact sheet). PA criminal law, including its gambling provisions, is therefore enforced by Palestinian police mainly in the areas where the PA exercises those powers.

The only casino in the territories, in Jericho, was inaugurated in September 1998. According to The Jerusalem Post, it was initially run by a foreign casino group, employed more than 1,000 people and attracted thousands of Israelis daily, and the PA leadership answered criticism by stating that only Israelis would be allowed to gamble there (The Jerusalem Post, 2022). A contemporaneous report in The Christian Science Monitor stated that Palestinians could work at the casino but not gamble there, and that the PA barred entry to anyone without a foreign passport (The Christian Science Monitor, 1998). No official figures on the casino’s clientele or revenue were found for this review.

The casino closed shortly after the Second Intifada began in September 2000 (The Jerusalem Post, 2022); a 2013 report states that the Israeli army closed it for security reasons (J. Weekly, 2013). In February 2006, The Jerusalem Post reported that Hamas would bar the casino from reopening (The Jerusalem Post, 2006). In February 2022, Israeli television reported that Israel’s security establishment had discussed allowing Israelis to return to the casino but had decided against it for the time being; the governor of Jericho called talk of reopening “premature” (The Jerusalem Post, 2022). No later steps towards reopening were found for this review.

Legal framework

Checking gambling legislation and licensing

There is no single Palestinian gambling statute. The relevant rules are spread across general criminal codes, a cybercrime decree-law, tax and anti-money laundering legislation. Which law applies depends on where the conduct takes place and which authority exercises jurisdiction there.

The West Bank: Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960

The gambling and lottery provisions appear in Articles 393 to 398 of the Jordanian Penal Code, as published by An-Najah’s Maqam database:

Article 393 treats a person who owns, occupies or controls premises and opens, runs or uses them for unlawful gambling, or knowingly lets others do so, as keeping a public gambling place. It defines unlawful gambling to include card games and other games in which the chances are not equal for all players, including games played against a banker or the person running the game (Article 393).
Article 394 punishes running a public gambling place with imprisonment of up to six months and a fine of up to 50 dinars (Article 394).
Article 395 presumes that anyone found in a public gambling place is there to gamble unless they prove otherwise, and punishes them with a fine of up to 5 dinars for a first offence and, for repeat offences, a fine of up to 10 dinars, imprisonment of up to three months, or both (Article 395).
Article 396 allows police to seize gambling equipment found on such premises and lets the court order its confiscation, destruction or return (Article 396).
Article 397 punishes opening or running a place for any kind of lottery with up to six months’ imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 dinars, and punishes printing or publishing lottery advertisements or selling tickets with a fine of up to 50 dinars. A “lottery” covers any method of distributing property by chance. The article does not apply to a lottery for which permission has been obtained from the competent authority (Article 397).
Article 398 treats anyone who appears to supervise or manage such premises as their keeper, whether or not they are the real owner (Article 398).

The fines are expressed in the currency amounts of 1960 and have not been updated for gambling offences in the amending decree-laws listed on the Maqam database (Maqam, Penal Code No. 16 of 1960). They are therefore small in real terms.

The Gaza Strip: Penal Code No. 74 of 1936

In Gaza, the basic criminal law is the Mandate-era Penal Code No. 74 of 1936 (UNODC SHERLOC). The full text of its gambling and lottery provisions could not be verified against an official or academic source for this review, so their article numbers and penalties are not stated here. According to Al Jazeera, Hamas has run the Gaza Strip since 2007, while the Palestinian Legislative Council has been inactive since 2007 and was dissolved by the PA President in 2018 (Al Jazeera, 2022). The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights recorded in 2009 that the Change and Reform parliamentary bloc had approved amendments to the 1936 Penal Code in Gaza without ratification by the PA President (PCHR, 2009). Whether and how decree-laws issued in Ramallah after 2007 are applied in Gaza could not be verified in detail.

East Jerusalem

Which gambling rules apply in East Jerusalem depends on which legal system is applied there, a question on which positions differ. The UN Security Council, in Resolution 478 of 1980, declared null and void Israeli measures intended to change the status of Jerusalem (UNISPAL, Security Council resolutions). This guide takes no position on the status of the city. Where Israeli law is applied, Chapter 12 of Israel’s Penal Law 5737-1977 makes organising prohibited games, lotteries or betting punishable by up to three years’ imprisonment or a fine, and playing a prohibited game by up to one year’s imprisonment or a fine; the main lawful exceptions are the national lottery, a statutory sports betting board, narrow social gaming and free promotional draws (Chambers, Gaming Law 2025: Israel).

Cybercrime decree-law

Decree-Law No. 10 of 2018 on Cybercrime is the only Palestinian instrument found that addresses online gambling directly. Article 23 makes it an offence to create a website, application or electronic account, or to publish information online, in order to run, facilitate, encourage or promote gambling or to offer gambling games. The penalty is imprisonment of at least six months, a fine of 500 to 1,000 Jordanian dinars or the equivalent in legal currency, or both (Decree-Law No. 10 of 2018, Article 23). The Maqam database lists the decree-law as in force in the West Bank and Gaza (Maqam, Decree-Law No. 10 of 2018), although its application in Gaza is subject to the uncertainty noted above.

Regulator and licensing model

The Palestinian territories follow a prohibition model: gambling is restricted through the criminal law rather than authorised through licences. There is no gambling regulator, no gaming commission and no state lottery operator, and no official register of licensed gambling operators was found. Enforcement falls to the police and the Public Prosecution under the general criminal law.

The one route to lawful gambling in the West Bank code is the exemption in Article 397 for lotteries authorised by the “competent authority”. No published PA framework setting out who grants such permission, on what conditions, or how many charitable raffles have been authorised could be found for this review. Readers should treat any claim that a Palestinian body licenses lotteries or gaming with caution unless it is supported by an official document.

The former Jericho casino operated under an arrangement specific to that project rather than a general licensing law, and the sources reviewed do not identify a statute under which a casino could be licensed today.

Online gambling and enforcement

Online casino games on mobile devices

No operator is licensed to offer online casino games, sports betting or poker to people in the Palestinian territories. Under Article 23 of the cybercrime decree-law, operating or promoting an online gambling service through a website, app or social-media account is a criminal offence. The provision covers promoters and facilitators as well as operators, which in principle extends to local agents who advertise foreign betting sites (Decree-Law No. 10 of 2018, Article 23).

The same decree-law provides for blocking, meaning orders requiring internet service providers to stop access to a website. Under Article 39, where investigation authorities find websites hosted inside or outside the territories that publish content threatening national security, public order or public morals, they report to the Attorney General, who or whose deputy may, within 24 hours, ask the Magistrates’ Court to order them blocked; the court decides on the same day, and blocking may not exceed six months unless renewed (Decree-Law No. 10 of 2018, Article 39). No published list of blocked gambling sites, and no PA decision specifically targeting gambling websites, was found for this review. There are also no published rules on payment blocking or gambling advertising beyond the general offences described above.

Enforcement data are sparse. A 2025 master’s thesis at Al-Quds University on electronic gambling in Palestinian criminal law concluded that tracking and prosecuting suspects is hampered mainly by difficulties in collecting and documenting digital evidence (Al-Quds University, 2025). In Gaza, the website of the Ministry of Interior and National Security operating there reported, in a post dated January 2011, that police had arrested a group of men gambling for money in a rented apartment in Gaza City and referred them for legal proceedings (Ministry of Interior and National Security, Gaza, 2011).

Position of players

The legal position of individual players is narrower than that of operators, and the sources do not show a general offence of placing a bet. The clearest player-side provision is Article 395 of the Jordanian Penal Code in the West Bank: a person found in a public gambling place is presumed to be gambling and faces a small fine, rising to possible imprisonment of up to three months for repeat offences (Article 395). Under Article 397, buying a ticket in an unlicensed lottery is not itself listed as an offence; the article targets those who run, advertise or sell.

The cybercrime decree-law targets those who create or use online tools to run, facilitate, encourage or promote gambling. Its text does not expressly make it an offence simply to play on a foreign website, but a player who recruits others or promotes a betting service online could fall within it. No reported prosecution of an individual for merely playing online was found. Players should also be aware that, with no local licensing, there is no Palestinian body to which they can complain if a foreign operator withholds winnings.

In East Jerusalem, where Israeli law is applied, it makes playing a prohibited game punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment or a fine (Chambers, Gaming Law 2025: Israel).

Taxation

Because there is no lawful gambling industry, there is no gaming tax, licence fee or levy on gross gaming revenue (GGR, the amount wagered minus winnings paid out). The main tax provision touching the sector concerns prizes. Under Article 31(7) of Decree-Law No. 8 of 2011 on Income Tax, anyone who pays a prize or lottery winnings, in cash or in kind, must withhold 10% of the amount; for individuals this is a final tax, while for companies it is added to taxable profits. A payer who fails to withhold can be held liable for the tax (Maqam, Decree-Law No. 8 of 2011 on Income Tax). The law does not mention gambling or betting winnings separately. The Maqam database records no amendment to Article 31, but whether later amending decree-laws have changed this provision could not be confirmed. Readers should confirm the current position with the Palestinian Ministry of Finance.

Anti-money laundering

The PA’s current anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing law is Decree-Law No. 39 of 2022, amended by Decree-Law No. 45 of 2022, as listed by the Financial Follow-Up Unit (Financial Follow-Up Unit, laws and decrees). The earlier Decree-Law No. 20 of 2015 is listed by the Maqam database as repealed (Maqam, Decree-Law No. 20 of 2015). The list of designated non-financial businesses and professions in Article 3 of the 2022 decree-law covers real estate agents, dealers in precious metals and stones, lawyers, accountants and company service providers, but not casinos; the national committee may add other businesses (Decree-Law No. 39 of 2022, English text).

On the regional body, the Middle East and North Africa Financial Action Task Force (MENAFATF), a publication dated August 2026 states that Palestine was an observer member of MENAFATF during its first round of evaluations and was not evaluated in that round. Its second-round mutual evaluation began in 2020 but was halted after planned on-site visits in 2022 and 2023 could not take place; instead, a technical compliance report was adopted at the 40th Plenary in May 2025, and an annex on correspondent banking at the 41st Plenary in November 2025 (MENAFATF, ML and TF prevention framework: Palestine). The publication does not mention gambling.

Consumer protection and responsible gambling

There is no national self-exclusion scheme, no gambling helpline and no statutory duty of care for gambling operators in the Palestinian territories, which is consistent with the absence of licensed operators. No Palestinian organisation dedicated to problem gambling was identified for this review, and no official prevalence survey of gambling or gambling harm was found. People affected by gambling may seek help through general mental health and addiction services, and general guidance is available in our responsible gambling guide.

Because offshore sites are unregulated locally, players have no access to Palestinian dispute resolution, deposit limits or age verification standards.

Recent and upcoming developments

Anti-money laundering reform (2022–2025). Decree-Law No. 39 of 2022 replaced the 2015 AML law, and MENAFATF adopted a technical compliance report on Palestine in May 2025 and a correspondent banking annex in November 2025 (MENAFATF, 2026).
Jericho casino (2022). Reported Israeli security discussions about letting Israelis return to the casino ended without a decision to reopen, and local officials called the idea premature (The Jerusalem Post, 2022). No later steps towards reopening were found.
Academic attention to online gambling (2025). Research at Al-Quds University highlighted evidential obstacles to prosecuting electronic gambling (Al-Quds University, 2025).
Gaza since October 2023. OCHA continues to publish regular reports on the humanitarian impact of the hostilities in the Gaza Strip, most recently in October 2026 (OCHA, Gaza Strip snapshot); no information on gambling enforcement there in this period was found.
No pending gambling legislation. No draft decree-law on gambling, lotteries or online betting, and no plan to introduce a licensing regime, was found as of October 2026.

Casino listings for players in Palestine

The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database. They do not show that any operator is licensed in the Palestinian territories, where no authority licenses online casino games and there is no register to check. Operating or promoting online gambling is an offence under Decree-Law No. 10 of 2018, and the listings must not be read as an indication that offering or playing these games is lawful.

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Key points

Top Rated Online Casinos for Palestine

Historical development

Legal framework

The West Bank: Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960

The Gaza Strip: Penal Code No. 74 of 1936

East Jerusalem

Cybercrime decree-law

Regulator and licensing model

Online gambling and enforcement

Position of players

Taxation

Anti-money laundering

Consumer protection and responsible gambling

Recent and upcoming developments

Casino listings for players in Palestine

Related country guides

Sources and further reading

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