Lebanon’s government has been discussing and preparing a “world-class” electronic sports betting platform throughout 2025, with details shared publicly by Minister of the Displaced and Minister of State for Technology and Artificial Intelligence, Kamal Shehadi, as part of the ministry’s broader digital Lebanon strategy.
In a country facing institutional collapse, mass poverty, and a severe brain drain, the announcement exposes contradictions in how the state understands and uses technology.
According to the World Bank’s 2024 multidimensional poverty report, a country where 73% of citizens live in poverty, Minister of AI Lebanon, Kamal Shehadi announced preparations to launch an electronic sports betting platform through a public tender, promising transparency, strict identity verification, and the highest cybersecurity standards.
With a tweet posted on X, Shehadi said the digital Lebanon platform would be based “on transparency, responsible gambling, rigorous identity and age verification, and the highest standards of cybersecurity and governance, ensuring consumer protection and enhancing oversight and regulation.”
He later clarified that “the proposed platform is dedicated to sports betting, not casino games, and therefore does not compete with Casino du Liban.
But Lebanon has been a failed state for more than five years now, with almost no economic feasibility to develop or sustain a highly secure digital infrastructure capable of protecting citizens’ sensitive data.
The government continues to struggle to secure basic civil registries, provide electricity, or maintain essential services, raising serious doubts about its ability to manage a high value database containing citizens’ financial and behavioral data.
During the struggles of the country, no one expected Lebanon tech news to flourish in this manner.
A High Tech Lebanon Risks Database
The government is struggling to secure basic civil registries or even provide electricity. So, how will it manage a Lebanon tech target database of citizens’ financial data and strict identity verification?
The reliance of the platform on Know Your Customer (KYC) mechanisms introduces main risks, targeted at a country with weak cybersecurity defenses and limited regulatory enforcement.
Sensitive identity, financial, and behavioral data could become a main target for cybercriminals, exposed to leaks, breaches, or resale on the dark web. With citizens already economically exposed and socially vulnerable, the question remains, how will the government secure this data, and who will be accountable when it fails?
Economist Elie Yachoui described the move as “committing a crime against its own people,” questioning the platform’s profitability and warning it “could become a breeding ground for waste.
He asked how the state would cover betting payouts, which are not difficult to predict in the sports sector, especially with some strong national teams and clubs. How will the state pay for it?
Digital Lebanon Without Vision
This Lebanon tech approach contrasts sharply with Shehadi’s parallel claims that Lebanon is preparing to invest between $30 million and $50 million in generative Lebanon AI and digital public infrastructure, including a national digital ID, digital payments, and interoperable data platforms.
In interviews with The National, the minister spoke of positioning Lebanon as a regional digital innovation hub and building secure, inclusive systems supported by the World Bank and the Lebanese diaspora.
At Gitex Global technology conference in Dubai, Minister Shehadi stressed the need for “flexible frameworks” and collaboration between government, the private sector, academia, and civil society to regulate AI development in Lebanon along with AI solutions in Lebanon.
He stated that, “we have to recognise that we’re not going to be, as policymakers, as fast as the technology,” adding that privacy and cybersecurity should be regulated first.
Yet the brain drains of tech companies in Lebanonand their IT talent question who will build and defend this infrastructure? Lebanon has lost a large share of its cybersecurity, software, and systems engineering workforce.
Who will protect this “digital Lebanon” platform from inevitable Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, data breaches, and internal misuse?
On a related note, an economist and university professor described the situation as “a crisis of vision and values,” comparing it to “a dirty person, covered in mud, who puts on new clothes without washing.” He warned of reputational risks and asked, “What image are we trying to project to the world? A picture of a large casino run by a financially and morally bankrupt state?”
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that “gambling can threaten health, leading to increased rates of mental illness and suicide. It can also cause poverty by diverting household spending from essential goods and services.”
Dr. Therese Seif of the Lebanese University went further, calling the plan “a plan for mass suicide,” asking, “What kind of society are we creating for the future?”
In a collapsing state, a digital Lebanon full of tech companies in Lebanon, without vision does not modernize governance, it exposes its failures.
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