Azerbaijan signs criminal code changes with prison terms of up to 8 years for illegal gambling, while preparing to legalize land-based casinos

Azerbaijan’s president has signed amendments to the Criminal Code that raise the cost of running illegal gambling in the country, while the government is also preparing the launch of its first legal casino market. For PSPs and operators, that means the same jurisdiction is tightening the penalties on one side and building a licensed framework on the other.

1. Fixed fines for illegal gambling have been removed. Under the new rules, penalties are tied to income and can reach twice the amount of illegal profit.
2. The base sanction for organizing games through websites and apps is now 2-4 years in prison.
3. Where the activity involves an organized group or generates large income, the sentence rises to 3-5 years. For especially large income, the term increases to 5-8 years. Involving minors increases liability further.
4. On the licensing side, a 2025 law for the first time allows casinos in Azerbaijan. Until now, only the state lottery and sports betting were available.
5. The planned casino model is limited to special tourist zones on artificial islands in the Caspian Sea, with mandatory state licensing and operating standards to be developed by the regulator.

For payment providers, the practical takeaway is straightforward: Azerbaijan is moving toward a regulated casino channel while making unlicensed gambling materially more expensive to run. That combination usually changes how risk teams look at merchant onboarding, transaction monitoring, and jurisdictional exposure.