Belarus Drafts Bill to Ban Most Online Gambling Advertising

^{Minsk, Belarus. The country's antimonopoly regulator has drafted rules that would ban most online gambling advertising. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)}

Belarus's Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, known as MART, has drafted a bill that would ban almost all online advertising for gambling establishments, lotteries and electronic interactive games, including virtual casinos.

MART said on 21 August 2026 that the draft law had been sent to relevant government bodies for review. The ministry has not given a timeline for that review or confirmed which exceptions, if any, the online advertising ban would carry.

Ban Would Also Cover Public Transport and Bonus Messaging

Beyond the online advertising ban, the bill would prohibit gambling advertising on public transport across Belarus, close a gap the current advertising law does not address. It would also bar the use of images of people and animals in gambling advertising and ban references to bonuses that can be used for betting.

Television and radio advertising would not be banned outright but would face new volume limits under the proposal, according to MART's draft, reported by Yogonet.

Draft Follows a Public Complaint and a February Decree

MART's proposal follows a complaint from Belarusian citizen Igor Borisenok, who contacted the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Information and MART over the volume of casino advertising in Belarusian cities. MART responded that it shared his concerns and had prepared amendments introducing further restrictions; Borisenok later published the ministry's response.

A survey conducted in the past year found that nearly 86% of respondents identified gambling advertising as their biggest source of irritation among ad categories.

The bill also follows President Alexander Lukashenko's 20 February signing of Decree No. 64, which barred minors and people already restricted from visiting gambling establishments from taking part in electronic instant lotteries. Belarus has regulated gambling advertising since its current Advertising Law was adopted in 2007, with existing rules already prohibiting casino and gambling ads in educational, healthcare, cultural and sports institutions, and banning claims that gambling is a way to make money or that guarantee winnings.

Comes After Google Lifted Its Own Advertising Ban

The volume of online gambling advertising in Belarus increased after Google lifted its ban on gambling ads in the country in January 2026, with advertising subsequently permitted subject to certification through the Ministry of Taxes and Duties. MART's new proposal would effectively reverse that opening for online channels, even as other jurisdictions weigh similar restrictions: Lithuania faces its own legal challenges over an incoming gambling advertising ban, while Australia's online gambling advertising restrictions have drawn political pushback of their own.

Outdoor Advertising Rules Stay in Place

The existing 2007 Advertising Law will continue to require local authority approval for outdoor gambling advertising, a requirement MART's new bill does not propose to change. That leaves the draft's biggest practical shift focused on the channels where Belarusian operators had expanded most since the start of the year: online display and search advertising.

MART has not set out a date for when the Belarusian bill might be finalised or take effect. For now, the draft remains under review by the government bodies it was submitted to on 21 August.