The Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan is changing its approach to regulating gaming. It is backing away from its crackdown of two years ago, where it imposed restrictive regulations. Now it is concentrating on amendments to prevent harm to consumers.
Ilya Machavariani and Ivan Kurochkin, partners at consultancy 4H, told Asia Gaming Brief that initial restrictive regulations discouraged the growth of the gaming sector.
The government has now pivoted to introducing amendments to restrict wagering at sporting events, as well as limiting brick-and-mortar betting shops and totalizators—computers that register bets and divide the total amount bet among winners— to two gaming zones. They also mandated a “center for accounting of bets” that all operators must provide data to.
The government has also introduced measures to block offshore operators (basically any of the neighboring countries that were formerly part of the Soviet Union) and added responsible gambling measures to the Kazakhstan Gambling Law. Critics say these measures are largely ineffective.
Currently six licensed land-based casinos are based in the country, in zones that are somewhat remote. They appeal primarily to international consumers, typically from China and India, rather than locals.
Kazakhstan bans online gaming, except for online sports betting, which is very popular and growing with new operators entering the market. The ban on online gaming seems to have had the effect of pushing players towards offshore operators.
According to Machavariani and Kurochkin, Kazakhstan has the potential for high growth. Its population of nearly 20 million has a relatively high standard of living, with many residents active on mobile platforms and the internet.
They also talked about neighboring Uzbekistan, where gaming is illegal but the government is moving towards legalization of online and land-based gaming. Similarly, neighboring Kyrgyzstan has announced its intent to legalize verticals that serve gaming, such as casinos, slot machines, bookmakers and e-casinos.
