Saudi Arabia first introduced laws that outlawed gambling in the 1960s. Since then, things have remained the same. From the look of things, the situation is expected to remain as is.
The good news is that the law against gambling is fairly relaxed. Surprisingly, some forms of legal gaming take place within Saudi Arabian borders.
Horse racing has been a popular form of legalized gambling for many years now, and it takes place at two racetracks near Riyadh. There have also been recent efforts to push for the legalization of sports gambling. Unfortunately, there has been little progress on this front.
Gambling nowadays in Saudi Arabia
Online gambling has become one of the world's most popular pastimes owing to its convenience. Online casinos and sports books have no physical presence in Saudi Arabia, making it difficult for Saudi Arabian authorities to regulate or ban their activity.
As a result, many Saudis have turned to online casinos to play cards and other forms of gambling that they cannot enjoy under the law within their borders. Thus, Saudi Arabian citizens can enjoy all the benefits of playing online, but they are subject to an increased risk for fraud and other illegitimate behavior.
However, that hasn't stopped the government of Saudi Arabia from implementing anti-gambling laws. The laws demand that all Saudi Arabian citizens refrain from playing on these sites because it is illegal and punishable by law.
The Saudi government has been known to block online gambling websites from being accessed in Saudi Arabia due to citizens attempting or engaging in online gambling.
In light of this, Saudi punters resort to using VPNs and proxy servers that mask their IP addresses. This allows them to access foreign casinos where no geographical restrictions apply.
Of course, this is a violation of online casinos' terms of service, but many individuals are willing to try their luck at these foreign sites.