Under the chairmanship of the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yeraly Tugzhanov, a meeting was held on the regulation of the gambling business and lottery activities, Kazpravda.kz reports with reference to the press service of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The meeting was attended by representatives of authorized state bodies and the National Bank.
Vice Minister of Culture and Sports Yerzhan Yerkinbayev reported on the implementation of instructions on the creation of a Betting Center, the adoption of legislative amendments to counteract online casinos, the blocking of gambling websites, and the regulation of the lottery business.
The Vice Prime Minister noted that the easy accessibility, wide distribution of online casino sites have become the main reasons for the involvement of the population in gambling.
Government agencies do not have data on the number of such sites, persons addicted to gambling, and the amount of funds spent by citizens on online casinos.
Ye. Tugzhanov pointed out that the Betting Center should be created on the basis of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.
Following the meeting, Yeraly Tugzhanov gave a number of specific instructions to state bodies. In particular:
- develop a joint action plan to combat illegal gambling and reduce the level of involvement of citizens in gambling;
- create and promote social videos about the dangers of gambling;
- conduct raids to identify illegal gambling establishments with the involvement of members of the public;
- designate a list of persons who carry out activities for organizing an online casino;
- establish a ban on banks and payment systems to conduct financial transactions in favor of these persons;
- establish a ban on making payments or replenishing accounts in casinos, slot machine halls, betting shops using credit cards;
- establish responsibility for organizing an online casino;
- develop a system for identifying and rehabilitating citizens addicted to gambling, including children.
