Kazakhstan Moves Toward Criminalizing Online Casino Promotion

Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) has identified 34 social media influencers promoting illegal online casinos.

So far, 11 individuals have faced administrative penalties, but authorities say fines are failing to prevent repeat violations, The Caspian Post reports, citing The Times of Central Asia.

In response, the FMA is now exploring the possibility of imposing criminal penalties to curb the promotion of online gambling platforms.

A law passed in 2024 strictly prohibits outdoor advertising for bookmakers, online casinos, and betting pools, as well as their promotion in media, films, and video content. According to the FMA, over the past two and a half years, more than 200 illegal gambling operations have been dismantled, and 224 individuals have been held criminally accountable. However, the agency notes that the primary threat now stems from online casinos based abroad.

Since the beginning of this year, authorities have blocked more than 17,000 links, mostly mirror sites for foreign platforms. Despite these efforts, some Kazakhstani payment service providers continue to facilitate transactions linked to such websites. The FMA has pledged to intensify investigations into these financial intermediaries.

Influencer marketing remains a key channel for online gambling promotion. In the first half of the year alone, 34 influencers were identified as advertising gambling services, with 11 fined. But according to the FMA, revenues from such promotions far exceed the cost of the fines, creating incentives for repeated violations.

In response, the agency is exploring whether bloggers’ actions could be legally interpreted as aiding and abetting illegal gambling, a charge similar to promoting financial pyramid schemes, which already carries criminal penalties under Kazakhstani law.

Currently, fines for illegal advertising on social media start at 200,000 KZT (approximately $420).