Nepal Blocks Over 223,000 Illegal Betting and Financial Fraud Websites

Kathmandu – The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has blocked more than 223,000 websites and applications linked to online betting and illegal financial transactions.

The government had included measures to curb online betting and scams in its 100-point governance reform action plan issued on Chaitra 13. Point 42 of the action plan directed the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to shut down betting applications and related websites within 24 hours.

Following the decision, all betting websites operating in Nepal at the time were blocked. However, such platforms frequently reappear under new names and domains.

According to the NTA, a total of 223,568 betting applications and websites have been blocked since the beginning of this year’s FIFA World Cup. Authorities intensified their action amid concerns that the use of online betting platforms could rise significantly during the tournament.

The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers also expressed particular concern over the issue, prompting the NTA to accelerate its enforcement efforts. A dedicated task force has been formed to identify and block such platforms.

Om Prakash Mahato, assistant director and engineer at the NTA and a member of the task force, said representatives of internet service providers were stationed at the authority’s office after the World Cup began to assist in blocking illegal websites.

The URLs of betting and illegal financial transaction websites are blocked in coordination with internet service providers. Because identifying such a large number of websites individually is difficult, the authority relies on lists and databases maintained by authorized national and international institutions.

However, authorities continue to face challenges because new websites often appear shortly after existing ones are blocked. The NTA therefore uses threat intelligence tools to detect and track newly launched illegal platforms. Dedicated personnel have also been assigned to carry out the monitoring process.

The authority has urged the public to report suspected illegal betting or financial transaction websites through its GitHub reporting platform at github.com/NTA-OPM.