Kuwait’s official gazette, Kuwait Al-Youm, today (Sunday 4 October) published Decree-Law No. 102 of 2026 issuing the Media Regulation Law. It replaces three laws at once: the 2006 Press and Publications Law, the 2007 Audio-Visual Media Law and the 2016 Electronic Media Law.
Who the advertiser chapter covers
Article 34 applies to anyone who advertises, promotes or markets commercially to an audience inside Kuwait, whether a citizen, a resident or a visitor. Doing so, paid or unpaid, now requires a licence from the competent ministry.
Applicants must be at least 18. The ministry has 60 days to decide, and silence after that counts as a refusal. A licence lasts two years, and renewal must be requested at least two months before it expires. Licensed advertisers are listed on an electronic platform whose details the executive regulations will set.
Every ad must say it is an ad
Any content carrying an advertisement must state clearly and explicitly that it is promotional. The duty falls on the advertiser and on anyone with an interest in the ad. Competitions and giveaways also count as advertising that needs a licence.
Content a business posts on its own website, app or account is not treated as licensable advertising in the cases the law exempts.
The fines
Publishing an ad without a licence: KD 1,000 to KD 50,000 (Article 55). The same range applies to an ad that is not labelled as one, or that carries misleading or incomplete information (Article 56).
When it starts to bite
The law is in force from publication, but the licensing details, advertiser criteria and disclosure rules are left to the executive regulations, which the minister must issue before 4 April 2027. Existing media businesses then have six months from the regulations’ release to comply, or lose their licence.
If you promote products on your own account, or run one for a shop, the practical step now is to watch for those regulations: the licence conditions and the application route will come from them.
Photo: entity card, the State of Kuwait emblem over a blurred studio microphone. Photograph by Kuwait One.
Source: Decree-Law No. 102 of 2026 issuing the Media Regulation Law, Kuwait Al-Youm issue 1811, 4 October 2026, via the Kuwait Laws Portal (lawskw.com).
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