Over the past 2.5 years, the number of bookmakers in Kazakhstan has more than halved. Such figures were given by the Ministry of Culture and Sports of Kazakhstan. At the beginning of 2021, there were 38 bookmakers operating in the country, but today there are only 16 of them left, and only 12 of them are actually functioning, El.kz reports.
The Ministry of Culture and Sports is actively working to reduce the number of bookmakers, using both explanatory measures and legal procedures.
Over the past three years, bookmakers have voluntarily surrendered 15 licenses. Since the beginning of this year, five bookmakers have been closed in court, as their activities did not meet the requirements of the current legislation. Currently, work is also underway to revoke the licenses of three other bookmakers.
There is also a decrease in the total number of participants in the gambling business in Kazakhstan. Over the past five years, their number has more than halved. If in 2018 there were 97 gambling entities, then this year their number is 38.
- Since the beginning of 2023, the ministry has terminated 7 licenses in the field of gambling in court. Similar work is being carried out in relation to another 7 organizations. There is also monitoring on the Internet. This year, 3670 illegal online casinos have already been blocked," said Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, Vice Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan