With the power of a VPN, a UK national can watch his favorite British Netflix programming while on a work assignment in Japan; an oppressed Chinese teenager can learn the truth behind the Tiananmen Square Protests of 30 years ago; and any person in the world to avoid airlines surging up flight prices for people in certain countries. VPNs stress the rights of the individual to exercise free will and freedom of choice in the digital realm, pushing past the mandates of individual governments. In some of these endeavors, VPN users run the risk of fines or even imprisonment from heavy-handed censorship-practicing countries such as Russia, China, Indonesia, and Turkey. In others, they push past the stereotypes and shaming societies to visit websites like Grindr or play games like Roblox to make new friends and see what life is like in the rest of the world. One such impediment is the ban on online gambling in Saudi Arabia. One of the world’s richest countries by virtue of its massive oil supply and manufacture, most of the country’s citizens and visitors from overseas are held in check to what they can do by laws of both government and religion.
Censorship in Saudi Arabia
In 2018, the non-profit Reporters Without Borders organization ranked Saudi Arabia 169th out of 180 countries for level of freedom of the press. Gambling is illegal under the Sharia law in nearly all Muslim countries. Hefty fines and possible prison sentences are both on the docket for those caught in violation, such as seven members of an illegal gambling circle exposed in 2011 who were all taken to court. Saudi Arabia enforces the online gambling ban with powerful technology and frequent updates. Its Communications and Information Technology Commission claims to have blocked more than 400,000 websites to date that are associated with “gambling, porn, and other moral offences”.
Tips for using VPNs to Gamble in Saudi Arabia
Using a VPN to visit online gambling websites outside of Saudi Arabia is no laughing matter — even for tourists. This isn’t a case of Netflix noticing you’re actually in Peru, not Philadelphia and throwing up the warning screen that you can’t watch the latest season of “Stranger Things” after all. Here are some tips to keep you in the clear.
Best VPNs for Gambling Online from Saudi Arabia
1ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is lightning fast, located in the British Virgin Islands, and has some really outstanding security features including AES-256 encryption, a kill switch, and zero-knowledge DNS functionality. It also gives you 24/7 customer service and a 30-day, money-back guarantee. Try Now Risk Free
2PrivateVPN
PrivateVPN lives up to its name with a strict no-logs policy and some powerhouse 2048-bit encryption. It has the automatic kill switch and built-in leak protection as standard features, and extends them across all platforms making it a great VPN for Windows and for mobile.
3NordVPN
NordVPN is probably the best overall deal in the market. It has AES 256-bit encryption and Double VPN tunnelling, along with a kill switch and a very fast set-up. The Double Tunnelling makes it a top VPN for torrents.
