The government of Bangladesh has been cracking down on illegal casinos over the past few months, with the most recent news revealing that the High Court has declared 13 clubs are offering illegal gambling in the region. An order was issued on February 10th by two Justices of the court, ruling that the gambling operations of the facilities located in five districts are illegal.
The clubs are now restricted and will no longer be allowed to offer gambling services. Law enforcement have been told by the court to seize any equipment used for gambling if discovered at any location. The clubs must act now and get in line with the decision of the court or face consequences.
In 2016, two lawyers of the Supreme Court in the region filed a petition to ask for a stoppage of gambling at these 13 social clubs. The petition cited three different laws to try and prove their point that the operations were illegal.
The clubs seemingly were in violation of the laws as they made it possible for their members to take part in gambling activities and used websites to provide information on the options they were offering.
It would take a long time for anything to come from the petition. The issue was not heard until the end of 2016 and then an order to stop the dice and cards games was handed down. However, law enforcement were not taking any action against these clubs.
One club, the Dhaka Club, tried to fight the cease and desist order. The club filed an appeal and did receive a temporary injunction against the higher court’s order. The High Court eventually agreed and allowed the injunction to stay in effect until the final disposition was heard, which took place this past January.
The verdict in the case was announced on Monday and now the clubs must operate within the law, no longer offering gambling services to members.
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