Myanmar online casinos for Real Money

As touched on, Myanmar’s gambling laws stem from the Gambling Act, which was written in 1899. That act essentially made all forms of gambling illegal. A blanket ban is in effect. Any players caught gambling in physical locations (such as underground casinos and betting rooms) will find themselves punished by fines or up to a month in prison. This is relatively lenient compared to the situation in, say, China and other nearby nations.

However, as is often the case with old gambling laws, you might be wondering about a loophole. After all, a law written in 1899 makes no mention of online gambling. How could it? While this is true and has been used by Burmese bettors to wager at betting sites in Myanmar, it can be “interpreted” in a way that implies “any form” of gambling is illegal. That definition would include online gambling.

Now, it is worth noting that Myanmar hasn’t actually proceeded to shut down the online gambling sector. There are no ISP (internet service provider) blocks, and even Burmese players are prepared to gamble at such sites without fear of arrest or punishment. This would imply that the authorities in Myanmar either turn a blind eye to online gambling or they aren’t invested in dealing with it at this moment in time. However, because there is no regulated industry, you can take that to mean that they aren’t interested in legalising and regulating online casino action.

Another key thing to note is that Myanmar’s gambling laws only specifically apply to Burmese players. In short, nationals. They do not span to international and foreign residents, such as expats. Nor do they apply to Burmese players living outside the country. Moreover, several land-based casinos can be found in Myanmar, which are open to tourists. There is, therefore, some wiggle room when it comes to gambling online in Myanmar. However, finding a site that offers gameplay in Burmese is trickier than you might imagine.

Aside from casinos (for tourists) and the Myanmar Lottery (which is a state-run monopoly), there aren’t many ways for you to gamble. The Aung Bar Lay (an online lottery) is an option. However, these are self-licensed and regulated, as you might imagine.
With a near-enough blanket ban in place in Myanmar, you can forget about trying to find a licensing and regulatory authority. There are none. It is estimated that up to 70% of Burmese nationals have gambling (illegally) in some form or another in their life. This implies that there is a sizeable market for offshore operators to reach out to, and many choose to do that. These websites are run out of foreign countries, and are often licensed and regulated to a safe industry standard level that they can be appealing to players in Myanmar. Any Burmese residents eager to bet online should check our selection of top offshore Myanmar casinos to see what we mean. Each has our seal of approval.

Despite being the only legal way to gamble in Myanmar, lotteries aren’t actually that popular. It is reported that as few as 44% of the population has “ever” bothered to play. Sports betting, while illegal, is immensely popular in Myanmar, and many of the online casinos catering to Burmese players often have sports betting options attached to them. These can all be accessed with the same account.
While we wouldn’t say that Burmese players love slots and table games, you can certainly find them available at those twin sportsbook/casino sites operating offshore. As for casino software providers to come out of Myanmar, there are none that spring to mind. Most of the software found at Myanmar’s offshore casinos either comes from European, Indian, or other Asian casino software developers.

Myanmar doesn’t run any online casinos, so any online casinos you can choose to play at are effectively offshore sites. These seldom cater specifically to Burmese bettors but to players in Asia overall. They are often accepting of players based outside of Asia, too. Before choosing any of these casinos, we encourage Burmese players to consider a few things.
You should check that the casino is licensed and regulated, that it accepts MMK or another currency you can use, and that gameplay/support is available in a language you understand. If you want to save yourself the trouble, choose one of our recommended Myanmar online casinos right here.