Top Live Casinos in Pakistan

Gambling laws in the country date back to 1947 but it is the Gambling Prevention Act of 1977 that is the central piece of relevant legislation in the country.

The long and the short of this piece of law, and the provincial versions of the act that came into effect in the following year, is that gambling is illegal anywhere in Pakistan.

Whilst the Act was introduced long before the birth of online gambling it is considered general enough to cover all varieties of gambling, including live online casinos.

The penalties for anyone breaking the law are severe. Anyone who operates a gambling facility runs the risk of a fine of up to 1,000 rupees or a year in prison, whilst anyone who takes part in gambling at "common gaming houses" can be fined up to 5,000 rupees and also face a year in prison.

There are also separate rules for gambling in public and private places, with fines varying from 500 to 1,000 rupees and jail terms of up to two years.

Over the past few decades, Pakistan has made great strides when it comes to political and economic stability. It is now officially ranked as one of the world's emerging and growth-leading economies and has a multi-party parliamentary system and a democratically imposed government.

Whilst these events point towards a country moving towards a more moderate society, there has been little sign from the Government of any move to relax gambling laws in the country.

What is for certain is there is the potential and market for live casinos as the country is estimated to have more than 80million Internet users, putting it in the top ten countries in the world for internet usage.

Officially all forms of live gambling are illegal in Pakistan, this includes:

• Online bingo
• Poker
• Lottery
• Sports betting

The one exception is horse racing, on which it has been legal to bet since 1979. Of course, as previously mentioned whilst both running and betting at live casinos might be illegal, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen...

With gambling being outlawed in the country it is hard to say with certainty what the favorite games are of those who do go under the radar and play live casinos that are licensed in other countries.

However, it is known cricket is hugely popular in Pakistan, and that live sports betting is a favorite with those that take the risk and use live casinos. Live table games such as roulette, blackjack and baccarat are also popular choices.

There are several e-wallets and online payment gateways that are used extensively in Pakistan, most notably Easypaisa, HBL Konnect, Jazz Cash, and Keenu Wallet.

Due to the strict regulations around gambling in the country, eWallets have become the way for Pakistani players to fund their live casino activities as the more traditional methods are blocked from depositing at gambling sites like:

• Visa
• Mastercard
• Bank transfers

Another popular choice, in the absence of PayPal, which is not available in the country, is Payoneer, a global payment service that can be linked with:

• VISA
• MasterCard
• American Express

These can be used at many live casinos.