Online Gambling May Be Punishable by Death Sentence in Iran

Online betting and gambling activities may be punishable by death in Iran if a newly proposed bill is accepted.

A Bill Proposes Death Sentence for Gambling in Iran

Online gambling and betting may soon be punishable by death sentence according to a newly drafted bill in Iran. The bill, drafted by the Vice President of the Judiciary and Legal Commission of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) calls for gambling crimes to be punishable by death over “corruption on Earth” charges.

Recently, Iran HRM quoted the Vice-chair of the Judiciary and Legal Commission, Hassan Norouzi, who said: “Majlis deputies have recently presented a bill to the board of directors based on Articles 705-711 of the Fifth Book of the Islamic Punishment Law which deals with punishment of betting in the cyberspace.“

Furthermore, Norouzi said that tough punishments are proposed for the groups involved in gambling. He added that if such illegal gambling activities are done by groups and gangs, those people would be arrested. According to Norouzi, the repeat offenses of that felony “will be considered by judges as corruption on Earth which is punishable by death“.

Iran’s Crackdown on Online Gambling

Since the formation of Iran in 1979, any type of gambling has been declared illegal. By saying “corruption on Earth“, Norouzi was referring to specific crimes in the Islamic Republic that are against “God’s order for mankind“. Other crimes punishable by death in the same category include treason, homosexuality, prostitution, corruption, and more.

It seems that recently Iran has been on the lookout for gambling-related offenses. Only recently, the Deputy Minister of New Technologies of the Central Bank has announced that the country’s Judiciary has received details of some 70,000 active online betting users. Furthermore, the BBC revealed that the FATA police in Iran has arrested 10 people in relation to online betting web sites last week.

With that in mind, if the newly proposed bill is accepted, it would be up to the Ministry of Communications, the FATA police, the Ministry of Interior, the Judiciary, and the Justice Department in Iran to implement the measures.