🇰🇿For operators · Tax, marketing & compliance
Operating in Kazakhstan: sports betting only, ad limits
Kazakhstan licenses online betting only: bookmakers and totalisators on .kz sites tied to the Unified Accounting System. Online casino and poker are banned; casinos and slot halls are land-based in Government-fixed territories, six of which admit foreign visitors only.
Operator tax3,000 MRPUpfront40,640 MCILicence term10 yearsDecision timeTen working daysOnline licensees7
Product by product
Online, only bookmakers and totalisators can be licensed, and each needs a reserve deposit in a Kazakhstan bank and premises and equipment on a territory the Government has designated.| Product | Status | Licensed by | Tax | Key restriction | Advertising |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sports betting (bookmaker) | Licensable | Committee for the Regulation of the Gambling Business and Lotteries | 3,000 MRP a month per electronic cash desk; 300 MRP per cash desk; 3.3% deduction from each bet | Online only as an electronic cash desk on a .KZ or .ҚАЗ domain, every bet recorded in the Unified Accounting System; no bets on software-generated events | Own site, registered sports media and live international sport broadcasts only; no social media, influencers or SMS |
| Totalisator (racing bets) | Licensable | As for Sports betting (bookmaker) | 4,000 MRP a month per electronic cash desk; 300 MRP per cash desk | Bets only on real horse and dog racing; 10,000 MCI reserve | Same limits as bookmakers |
| Online casino and slots | Banned | None available | Not applicable | Online casino is banned outright, and running one is a crime | Banned |
| Casino and slot hall (land-based) | Limited | As for Sports betting (bookmaker) | 1,660 MRP a month per gaming table; 60 MRP per slot machine | Land-based only, on territories the Government designates (in six of them, foreign visitors only); a slot hall must sit inside a hotel complex where a casino operates; 60,000 MCI reserve | Outside the bookmaker advertising bans |
| Online poker | Banned | Casino licence, land-based only | Not applicable | Poker is a casino table game; online poker counts as an electronic casino and is banned | Banned |
Decided9 Oct 20269 October 2026
How is the 3.3% bet deduction now split?
Government decree No. 889 of 9 October 2026 changed the split of the 3.3% deduction that bookmakers and totalisators pay on every accepted bet. The deduction funds sport, the Olympic fund and the Unified Accounting System. Separately, a change to part 2 of art. 444 of the Code of Administrative Offences, made by Law No. 247-VIII of 30 December 2025, takes effect on 1 January 2027.
Regulator and player protection in Kazakhstan
Regulator
Application authority and enforcement body
Self-exclusion scheme
National list across all licensed operators: 6 months to 10 years
How players exclude themselves; what it covers is in the player guide
Mandatory RG controls
reality checks
Deposit limits or reality checks the law requires operators to offer
Which casinos & betting sites are licensed in Kazakhstan?
See the full official list of licensed operators and their authorised domains.
Heads-up for operators
Changes coming in Kazakhstan · last change 9 Nov 2026
Enacted but not yet in force: a change to part 2 of art. 444 of the Code of Administrative Offences (Law No. 247-VIII of 30 December 2025), from 1 January 2027. Government decree No. 889 of 9 October 2026 re-set the split of the 3.3% deduction from bets. No gambling draft is listed on the Committee's page as of 9 November 2026.
Not yet in force: drafts, laws adopted without a start date, and sections of the law still to be commenced. An item moves to the timeline below on the day it takes effect.
Getting licensed in Kazakhstan
The licence, its cost and the steps are in the licence guide
4 licence types: Bookmaker licence; Totalisator licence; Casino licence (land-based); and others. Year-1 budget From 40,640 MCI. Fees, requirements, documents, certification and the step-by-step route are set out there.Read the licence guide
Gambling tax: 3,000 MCI a month per electronic cash desk; 3.3% of each bet
Detail
Kazakhstan taxes gambling by object, not by revenue (Tax Code arts 605-611, in force 1 January 2026): each month 1,660 MCI per gaming table, 60 MCI per slot machine, 300 MCI per bookmaker or totalisator cash desk, 3,000 MCI per bookmaker electronic cash desk and 4,000 MCI per totalisator electronic cash desk, at the MCI of the first day of the tax period (4,325 tenge in 2026). The tax period is the calendar quarter: the return is due by the 15th and the payment by the 25th of the second month after the quarter.
On top, corporate income tax on income from casino, slot hall, totalisator and bookmaker activity is 25% (the general rate is 20%), and bookmakers and totalisators pay a 3.3% deduction from every accepted bet under Government decree No. 167 of 12 March 2026, whose split was re-set by decree No. 889 of 9 October 2026. Turnover from gambling business is non-taxable for VAT (art. 450(4)); the 16% general VAT rate does not apply to it.
Which foreign licences Kazakhstan accepts
Kazakhstan recognises none of these 8 foreign licences.
BlockedMalta (MGA) · United Kingdom (UKGC) · Curaçao (CGB) · Alderney (AGCC) · Kahnawake (KGC) · Anjouan · Isle of Man (GSC) · Gibraltar (GRA)
Not recognised: internet resources of foreign bookmakers and totalisators without a Kazakh licence are prohibited and online casino is banned (Gambling Law art. 6(2)(2), (2-1)); unlicensed sites are reported for access restriction and payment providers may not serve listed foreign organisers (arts 6-1, 12-2(7)).
Bonus rules: welcome bonuses allowed
Inducement ads: Banned
No rule regulates bonuses or wagering requirements as such, but bookmakers and totalisators may not advertise them: their advertising is limited to name, trademark, location, internet resource and licence details.
What the player can claim
- Welcome bonus
- Allowed
- VIP schemes
- Allowed
- Loyalty schemes
- Allowed
- Cashback
- Allowed
- Online casino (banned)
No VIP or bonus rule appears in the acts; promotions may not be sent by SMS or call.
What the operator can advertise
- Channels off-limits
- social media and messengers
- influencers
- SMS and calls
- outdoor outside the gambling zones
- Messages ads may not give
- calls to register or place a bet
- Placement rule
- The licence number and issuing body in every advertisement (except radio); the approved risk warning on premises and the site's home page
- Penalties
60 MCI (individual) to 400 MCI (large business), Code of Administrative Offences art. 455(1-1)
Licence suspension and loss for breaches of the Gambling Law (art. 445)
The bans do not extend to land-based casinos and slot halls.
Advertising: limited
Bookmaker and totalisator advertising may carry only the name, trademark elements, location, internet resource and licence date, term and number, with no call to register or bet (Law on Advertising art. 13(1-5)). It is allowed on the operator's own website, in registered, exclusively sports-themed media, inside sports facilities during sports events, on domestic TV during live broadcasts of international competitions and within the gambling zones, and banned elsewhere outdoors, on other online platforms and by transmission to mobile devices (art. 13(1-4)). The Committee reads this to close social networks, messengers, influencer mentions and SMS promotions (explanation of 24 June 2026). Internet casino advertising is banned (Gambling Law art. 6(5-1)); the bans do not extend to land-based casinos and slot halls.
| Channel | Status | Vertical & Platform Split (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Google Search Ads | Banned | Online platforms are closed to bookmaker advertising except the operator's own site and registered sports media; internet casino advertising is banned.12 |
| Meta (FB/IG) | Banned | Social networks and messengers are closed to bookmaker advertising, including indirect mentions by private persons; an individual is fined 60 MCI.123 |
| TV & Radio | Restricted | Registered, exclusively sports-themed media, and on other domestic TV channels only during live international sports broadcasts; content limited to name, trademark, location, site and licence details.12 |
| Sponsorships | Restricted | Bookmaker advertising is allowed inside sports facilities during sports events, within the content limits; sponsorship itself is not defined or banned.12 |
| Digital OOH | Restricted | Banned outdoors except within the gambling zones; inside sports facilities only during events.12 |
Channel rules for Kazakhstan reflect each platform's published policy and the sources numbered in each row (listed under Methodology & sources). Verify with the local regulator and your ad-platform account manager before launching.
How Kazakhstan enforces against unlicensed operators
Enforcement combines site blocking and a payment bar on unlicensed foreign organisers, administrative fines with licence suspension and loss, and criminal liability for running an internet casino.
- The Unified Accounting System entity monitors the internet and reports unlicensed sites to the mass-media authority for access restriction; the Committee publishes a list of foreign organisers' merchant IDs that payment providers may not serve (Gambling Law arts 6-1, 6(2)(9), 12-2(7)).
- On 29 October 2026 the Agency for Financial Monitoring closed an investigation into a payment scheme serving illegal internet casinos and their mirror sites.
- Breaches of the Law cost 300 MCI (medium business) or 1,000 MCI (large) per breach, mostly with licence suspension; a repeat within a year 400 / 2,000 MCI with loss of the licence (Code of Administrative Offences art. 445).
- Bookmaker advertising outside the Law on Advertising: 60 MCI for an individual up to 400 MCI for a large business (art. 455(1-1)).
- Criminal Code art. 307 covers running an internet casino or operating without a licence: up to 2 years' imprisonment, up to 7 years for a criminal group or especially large income.
Enforcement cases in Kazakhstan: 1 recent
Material regulator actions, court rulings, and high-profile fines from 2016–2026 against operators serving Kazakhstan. Each entry includes the technical failure and a one-line read-across for other operators in the market.
- October 2026
Illegal internet casinos and their payment chain
Grey-MarketCriminal investigation closedThe Agency for Financial Monitoring closed an investigation into a payment scheme serving illegal internet casinos and their mirror sites through payment organisations, bank acquiring, POS and internet terminals, e-wallets and crypto, disguised as lawful bookmaker and other business; more than 188 billion tenge passed through the electronic terminals.
Read-across: Payment providers and banks that serve unlicensed operators face criminal cases; providing payment services to listed foreign organisers is prohibited (art. 6(2)(9)).
Licensed operators: 10
As of 9 Nov 2026, approximately 10 operators hold an active licence in Kazakhstan. Size your entry against this base before committing capital. Check them yourself on the official Gambling Business and Lotteries Committee register, which lists each licensee and its authorised domains.
Notable licensed operators
OLIMPBET
1XBET
OINABET
TENNISI
Traps operators hit in Kazakhstan
Specific operational risks that have caught new entrants in this market. Each item is country-specific. Generic gambling-ops issues (KYC, RG tools) are not included unless they have a local twist.
Every bet through the Unified Accounting System
A bookmaker or totalisator may not take or pay bets at an electronic cash desk outside the system, must integrate within 15 working days of the Committee's notice, and pays winnings only to the wallet the bet came from (arts 12(12), 12(4), 6(2)(5-2)).
A .KZ domain per electronic cash desk
Each electronic cash desk sits on a .KZ or .ҚАЗ domain, is registered with the tax authority and is taxed 3,000 MCI a month (4,000 MCI for a totalisator).
Owned premises on a fixed territory
A bookmaker must own a building meeting sanitary and fire norms, on a territory the Government fixes, and own its betting equipment (arts 11, 13).
Reserve kept at full size
40,000 MCI for a bookmaker (10,000 MCI totalisator, 60,000 MCI casino or slot hall) on a demand deposit in a Kazakhstan bank, topped up within three working days if it falls (art. 14).
Sources4
Advertising content is a closed list
Name, trademark, location, internet resource and licence details only; no bonuses, no calls to bet, no social media, influencers or SMS.
Timeline: rules in force
- 26 Aug 2026
Gambling territories fixed
Decree No. 767: two territories, plus six where casinos and slot halls admit foreign visitors only.
Source: 9
- May 2026
Mobile Payment Crackdown & Foreigner-Only Casinos
Authorities order telecom operators to block payments to illegal sites, and new rules take effect restricting access to all land-based casinos to foreign nationals only.
Source: 10
- 12 Mar 2026
3.3% deduction from bets
Decree No. 167; its split re-set by decree No. 889 of 9 October 2026.
Source: 11
- 1 Jan 2026
- December 2025
Self-Exclusion Strengthened
The national self-exclusion scheme is enhanced, allowing for irrevocable bans of up to 10 years via the eGov Mobile app.
Source: 12
- September 2024
Unified Accounting System and foreign organisers list
Law No. 116-VIII of 8 July 2024 added art. 12-2 on the system and art. 6-1 on the list of foreign organisers.
Source: 4
- 1 Apr 2007
Gambling Business Law in force
Four licensed activities; online casino banned; venues only on Government-fixed territories.
Source: 4
- 2007
Foundational Law Enacted
The 'Law on the Gambling Business' is passed, establishing the legal framework, creating two designated land-based casino zones, and prohibiting online casinos.
Source: 13
Operator myths vs reality in Kazakhstan
Common assumptions about gambling licensing that turn out to be wrong in practice.
- MythA Curaçao or Malta licence lets you serve Kazakhstan.Reality
Foreign bookmakers' sites without a Kazakh licence are prohibited, reported for blocking, and payment providers may not serve listed foreign organisers.
Sources4
- MythGambling operators charge 16% VAT.
- MythAll online gambling advertising is banned.
- MythInfluencers who promote betting face criminal charges.
Markets that work like Kazakhstan
Compared on what our records hold for each country: whether online casino, betting, poker and lottery are licensed, state-run or banned, the licensing model, what the operator tax is levied on and its band, how most advertising channels are treated, and how foreign licences are treated. A point we hold for only one of the two countries counts for nothing.
- AlbaniaReviewedAustraliaChecked
Online casino and poker banned; betting and lottery licensed; licensed market; most ad channels restricted; foreign licences mostly blocked.
- CyprusCheckedEcuadorReviewed
Online casino and poker banned; betting licensed; licensed market; most ad channels restricted; foreign licences mostly blocked.
- South AfricaIn review
Online casino and poker banned; betting and lottery licensed; licensed market; most ad channels restricted.
Methodology & sources
The research behind our Kazakhstan coverage
Counted across every Kazakhstan page, not this page alone.
compiled 9 Nov 2026
5
official websites
regulators, legislatures, courts
72
pages cited
specific documents, not homepages
246
sourced data points
each traced to the instrument
Across every Kazakhstan page on this site: players, operators and the licence guide. The research report behind them cites official sources: the law, the regulator, the gazette, the courts and each platform’s own published advertising policy. Page sections not yet rewritten from the report may cite other sources.
The same research as a 61-page Kazakhstan report: every one of the 201 checklist questions, each answer cited to the instrument behind it.
Request the Kazakhstan reportOur Deep AI Scan took Kazakhstan through all 201 questions of our regulatory checklist, from 39 official documents, read on 9 Nov 2026. Our research team then traced every figure on this page to the document and sentence that states it. The full research report is due to go to our compliance team. Where a fact rests on a press report or a law-firm summary rather than an official document, the page says so.
Documents cited on this page
- 1Law on Advertising of 19 December 2003 No. 508, art. 13 (adilet.zan.kz)
- 2Committee for the Regulation of the Gambling Business and Lotteries: explanation on bookmaker advertising (24 June 2026)
- 3Code of Administrative Offences of 5 July 2014 No. 235-V (adilet.zan.kz)
- 4Gambling Business Law No. 219 of 12 January 2007 (adilet.zan.kz, revision of 25 August 2026)
- 5Agency for Financial Monitoring, 29 October 2026: investigation of a payment scheme serving illegal internet casinos
- 6Criminal Code of 3 July 2014 No. 226-V, art. 307 (adilet.zan.kz)
- 7Order No. 46 of 2 April 2025: rules of the Unified Accounting System (adilet.zan.kz)
- 8Tax Code of 18 July 2025 No. 214-VIII, in force 1 January 2026 (adilet.zan.kz)
- 9Government decree of 26 August 2026 No. 767: territories for casinos, slot halls, bookmakers and totalisators
- 10Source
- 11Government decree of 12 March 2026 No. 167: 3.3% deduction from bets, as amended 9 October 2026 No. 889
- 12Source
- 13Source
The 10 documents this page relies on most
- Gambling Business Law No. 219 of 12 Jan 2007 (Закон «Об игорном бизнесе»), revision of 25 Aug 2026Regulator
- Order of the Minister of Tourism and Sport of 2 Apr 2025 No. 46: Rules for the functioning of the Unified Accounting System (ESU), as restated by order of 24 Apr 2026 No. 72 and amended by order of 9 Oct 2026 No. 198Law
- Law on Advertising of 19 Dec 2003 No. 508 (as amended)Regulator
- Order of the Acting Minister of Tourism and Sport of 9 Oct 2024 No. 175: Model rules of operation of gambling establishments, bookmakers and totalisators, as amended to 16 Oct 2026 No. 203Law
- Order of the Minister of Culture and Sport of 8 Jul 2020 No. 195, rules of the state services in gambling (licence issue), as amended to 14 Oct 2026 No. 202Law
- Tax Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Code of 18 Jul 2025 No. 214-VIII), in force 1 Jan 2026Law
- Code of Administrative Offences (Code of 5 Jul 2014 No. 235-V)Law
- AML/CFT Law of 28 Aug 2009 No. 191-IVRegulator
- Order of the Chairman of the Agency for Financial Monitoring of 6 Dec 2024 No. 9: Rules, list and form of data transmitted by integration of bookmaker / totalisator hardware-software complexes with the Agency's information system, as amended by order of 1 Jun 2026 No. 11Law
- Committee for the Regulation of the Gambling Business and Lotteries: Explanation on the legislative limits on advertising of bookmakers and totalisators (published 24 Jun 2026)Law
Also cited on this page
39 documents in all. Request the full research report for every source, answer by answer.
Looking for the player guide?
For consumer-facing information about gambling in Kazakhstan (tax on winnings, where to play legally, self-exclusion options), see the Kazakhstan player guide.
Disclaimer. This page reflects the law as we understood it on 9 Nov 2026. Rules change: always check the current position with Committee for the Regulation of the Gambling Business and Lotteries of the Ministry of Tourism and Sport. We are not a legal adviser.