Govt takes tough line on online gambling, porn, ads

The government has adopted a hard line against online gambling, pornography and “immoral” advertising, issuing urgent directives to media outlets, platforms and advertisers to remove and block such content, according to a government press release issued on October 16.

The Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and Information Technology said the measures aim to keep the country’s cyberspace “safe, ethical and youth-friendly.” 

Officials cited the Cyber Security Ordinance, 2025 and the Pornography Control Act, 2012, warning that creating, hosting, promoting or advertising gambling and pornographic content online is a criminal offence.

Under the guidelines, newspapers, online news portals, electronic broadcasters and digital ad networks must not carry gambling or pornographic promotions in default site/app inventories, programmatic ad slots (including AdSense), or customised placements. 

The government said violations would trigger punitive action under the 2025 ordinance.

Celebrities, influencers and content creators were urged to refuse endorsements or promotional work for gambling, betting, pornography or other “unethical” products and services. Participation in such advertising will be treated as a prosecutable offence, the ministry said.

Domestic and foreign websites, apps and platforms accessible in Bangladesh were told to prevent any gambling, betting or porn-related content, ads or links. The National Cyber Security Agency (NCSA) said monitoring has been intensified and warned of blocking orders, fines and legal action where necessary.

Mobile operators, internet service providers and international ad platforms—including Google AdSense and Meta Ads—were asked to align with local law, strengthen pop-up blocking and filtering, and customise default ad feeds to exclude gambling, porn and related gaming ads. Authorities reiterated a policy of “zero tolerance” for gambling promotions and said offending sites could be blocked, with public notice.

The government called for a whole-of-society response involving public agencies, media, technology firms and civil society. Citizens were encouraged to report violations to notify@ncsa.gov.bd

Enforcement will be coordinated by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), NCSA, National Telecommunication Monitoring Center (NTMC), National Security Intelligence (NSI) and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).