After a nearly 20-year standstill, Kazakhstan is set to shift its stance on gambling regulations.

Local reports suggest the country is looking to boost its economy by expanding gambling zones as global instability escalates.

Largely focused on tourism-centric areas, the new zones are in four areas: Mangistau on the Caspian Sea coast; Panfilov district and Lake Alakol in Zhetysu; Talgar district in Almaty region; and the Markakol area plus Zaisan district in East Kazakhstan.

It is also reported that alongside a myriad of social responsibility measures, the new zones will not be open to domestic residents, as the government continues to shield its citizens from the regulated gambling sector. 

There will be a much more stringent clampdown on advertising alongside the expansion of gambling zones, which is essentially a total ban on advertising. 

Furthermore, the new expansion also runs alongside an increase in action against the black market, which is primarily taking aim at the country’s key payment providers to halt the flow of engagement to unlicensed operators from Kazakh players. 

The government has reportedly been in direct contact with the country’s key mobile operators (Tele2, Beeline, Kcell, Activ) in order to ensure that payments are blocked in real time.

There will also be several geoblocking strategies undertaken in order to further clamp down on unlicensed operators targeting domestic residents in Kazakhstan. 

Whilst there is no official figure on the size of the black market in Kazakhstan, it is believed to be significant, as the size of the iGaming sector in the country has grown, and tax intake from the sector has remained modest when compared to the overall size of the iGaming sector. 

In many ways, Kazakhstan is mirroring the approach of neighbouring Russia, where a new gambling zone is set to be located in the Altai Republic, a mountainous region, also highlighting the zone as a key tourist attraction rather than a local destination.

Russia has shone a light on the potential for gambling as a tool to grow the economy and elevate tax revenue. 

Putin has always objected to gambling legislation and viewed the sector as significantly harmful to society. However, he has begrudgingly acknowledged, through the opening of the zones, its effectiveness as an economic tool.

One of Russia’s more recent builds in Sochi has provided a major chunk of tax income from the gambling zones, accounting for around 765m rubles ($8,5M) according to media reports.

 

 

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