The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) has begun freezing approximately 14,000 additional mobile financial service (MFS) accounts over suspected links to online gambling and digital hundi transactions, according to a senior BFIU official who spoke to The Business Standard.
“In the past month, we have frozen 10,000 MFS accounts. Based on a report submitted by an agency, we have decided to freeze another 14,000 accounts today. The process is already underway,” the official said.
The official attributed the ease with which criminal networks operate to the widespread availability of MFS accounts, adding that authorities have identified individuals connected to these networks and forwarded the information to relevant agencies for further action.
Steps are also being taken to prevent account holders whose MFS accounts were frozen for gambling-related activity from opening new accounts using their national identity cards.
On June 25, Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury told parliament that the BFIU had suspended or frozen transactions on around 55,000 MFS accounts tied to online gambling and digital hundi activity, indicating the scale of enforcement action taken this year.
Legal framework expands to cover digital channels
The account freezes coincide with a series of legislative measures targeting online gambling in Bangladesh.
The Cyber Security Act 2026, introduced April 10, designates online gambling as a criminal offense under Section 20. The law covers the creation or operation of gambling portals, applications or devices, participation in gambling, assistance or encouragement of gambling activity, and the marketing or advertising of gambling products.
Penalties under the act include up to two years in prison, a fine of up to Tk1 crore (approximately $81,000), or both.
Bangladesh further expanded its regulatory authority with the Gambling Prevention Act 2026, which took effect July 1 after receiving presidential approval.
The legislation replaces the Public Gambling Act of 1867 and extends enforcement to online gambling, sports betting, digital casinos, cryptocurrency-linked gambling and associated financial offenses.
Under the act, regulators can investigate gambling activity across websites, mobile applications, social media platforms and digital payment networks, and are authorized to block gambling-related websites and cut off the financial channels used to process gambling transactions.
Public campaign targets younger users
Alongside the enforcement actions, Bangladesh Bank, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and mobile financial services provider bKash have launched a nationwide awareness campaign using television advertisements, newspapers and social media to inform the public of the financial and legal risks tied to online gambling. Officials said younger people are among the primary audiences for the initiative.
Authorities have also worked to dispel the perception that online gambling activity is difficult to detect, noting that digital transactions leave records that investigators can trace.
Original article: https://www.yogonet.com/international/news/2026/08/04/125711-bangladesh-moves-to-freeze-14-000-more-mobile-accounts-linked-to-online-gambling
