Kazakhstan Is Nearing The Introduction Of A Bill To Limit Gambling Advertising

Kazakhstan is preparing a separate bill aimed at combating gambling addiction, which will contain measures to restrict gambling advertising.

During the discussion of the bill «On Online Platforms and Online Advertising», Senator Ruslan Rustemov drew attention to the concern in the country related to the presence of about 350 thousand people suffering from gambling addiction, mainly among young people. He pointed out that recently there has been a significant increase in advertising of sports betting and gambling in the online environment. The senator asked about possible plans to ban or restrict such advertising.

A pressing relevance of the problem of gambling in Kazakhstani society, made the Senate speaker Maulen Ashimbaev express confidence in the need to limit this phenomenon by adopting a separate law or making appropriate amendments to the existing laws. He stressed the importance of this step in combating the problem and protecting the interests of citizens.

Evgeny Kochetov, Vice Minister of Information and Social Development, noted: «Within the framework of the working group in the Mazhilis, when the bill was being discussed, there were indeed proposals from a number of factions to include norms on gambling addiction into the bill. But as far as I know, a separate draft law on combating the gambling addiction will be considered in the Fall. But we do not divide the content in terms of labeling into ludomania or something else. All content will fall under the labeling rules, which we, in fact, will provide for in by-laws.»

The previous statement of the deputy Ruslan Berdenov reflects his opinion that gambling has become a kind of epidemic in Kazakhstan. The deputy noted that he knows people, including those who are in his environment, suffering from gambling addiction. He called for a complete ban on gambling.

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