As a result of the explanatory work of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, seventeen sports betting operators decided to voluntarily renounce their licenses, and since the beginning of 2023, six of them have ceased their activities at all.
The Ministry of Culture and Sports also stated that it is working to revoke gambling licenses through legal proceedings as well. During 2023, 14 lawsuits were filed, resulting in six bookmakers, five betting shops, and one slot hall being shut down by court order.
Yerzhan Erkinbaev, Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports, said: «The Ministry is actively fighting against unscrupulous entities in the gambling business. Currently, work is underway on a bill providing for increased regulation of the gambling business and tougher penalties for violating regulations. As part of the bill, 55 amendments have been proposed, including 16 new regulatory instruments.»
Kazakhstan began to prepare a draft national system for the prevention of addiction, including the gambling one as almost 36,000 Kazakhstanis suffer from gambling addiction in the country.
On September 4, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered to tighten restrictions on gambling for certain groups of citizens.
«In recent years, the situation with gambling addiction in Kazakhstan has become increasingly widespread. For some families, this became a great tragedy,» Tokayev said.
The President has also noted that Kazakh youth constitute a special risk group.
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