Belarus Proposes Broad Restrictions on Gambling Advertising

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Altay Celikkaya

Content Manager

Updated: 27/08/26

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Belarus is considering broad restrictions on gambling advertising across online media, public transport, television, and radio. The Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, known as MART, has prepared a draft law covering lotteries, gambling venues, and electronic interactive games, including virtual casinos. The package would also control how operators present bonuses and which images may appear in campaigns.

The draft has been submitted to relevant government bodies for review and approval. It has not been enacted, and the proposed restrictions are not yet in force.

Belarusian flag waving against a blue sky representing proposed gambling advertising restrictions

Regulation & Compliance

Key Takeaways From Belarus’s Advertising Proposal

Online gambling advertising would be prohibited apart from limited exceptions that have not yet been defined.
Gambling promotions would be removed from public transport throughout Belarus.
Television and radio advertising would face time-based limits rather than a complete ban.
Campaigns could no longer use images of people or animals to promote gambling products.
Advertisements would be prohibited from mentioning bonuses that customers can use for wagering.

Online and Transport Advertising Face the Broadest Controls

The proposed online ban would affect acquisition strategies built around search, display advertising, social media, and other internet inventory. The current draft allows for certain exceptions, but MART has not disclosed which formats, audiences, or types of communication might remain permitted.

Operators, therefore, cannot yet determine whether the rules would cover owned websites, direct customer communications, or narrowly targeted campaigns. Affiliates and media partners may need to review contracts and campaign approval processes once the final scope becomes available.

Advertising on public transport would be prohibited outright. This would remove a high-visibility channel used to reach commuters and wider urban audiences. The official BelTA report confirms that the measures remain under consideration.

Belarus’s approach has similarities with Australia’s proposed gambling advertising reforms, which combine digital controls with restrictions affecting television, sports venues, and promotional activity.

Television and Radio Would Remain Under Tighter Limits

The draft does not propose a complete prohibition on gambling advertising across television and radio. Instead, MART intends to introduce time-based limits governing when relevant advertisements may be broadcast.

The permitted hours, transition period, and responsibilities of broadcasters have not been published. Media owners and operators will need these details before they can assess available inventory or update campaign schedules. Until then, existing rules continue to apply.

Creative Restrictions Cover Bonuses and Campaign Imagery

The proposed measures extend beyond where advertisements can appear. Gambling campaigns would no longer be allowed to feature images of people or animals, potentially affecting brand ambassadors, lifestyle imagery, mascots and established creative templates.

Operators and agencies may need to rebuild visual libraries and introduce additional approval checks. The final wording will determine whether the restriction applies equally across static images, video, animation and other formats.

Advertisements would also be barred from mentioning bonuses that can be used to place bets. This differs from the new US online gaming advertising standards, which regulate promotional accuracy, age targeting and influencer activity through an industry framework rather than a national statutory prohibition.

Draft Status Leaves Implementation Questions Unanswered

MART has not announced an approval timetable, commencement date, enforcement model or complete list of exceptions. Businesses should therefore avoid presenting the measures as settled law or making irreversible campaign changes before the final text is published.

Operators can still map exposed channels, identify campaigns containing bonus language or restricted imagery and prepare alternative assets. Similar planning considerations have emerged around the Dutch proposal for a total online gambling advertising ban, although the legal process and final scope in each market remain distinct.