Kazakhstan has ramped up its efforts to combat the illegal online gambling business by cracking down on unlicensed operators’ payment systems.
As per Blask, the country’s smaller banks froze around 400,000 transactions totaling $20.8 million (£15.6 million) during the period from October 2025 to March 2026.
The frozen payments were found to be coming from 110 blacklisted companies and payment service providers, while 11 bankers were arrested for assisting the illegal operators in evading the system.
Additionally, the authorities collaborated with the network operators Tele2, Beeline, Kcell, and Activ to make sure that gambling payment transactions would be blocked in real time, as well as using geo-blocking solutions to shut down the access to unlicensed gambling services.
At the same time, the country’s online casinos are still illegal while only a few licensed betting operators can offer online sports betting services.
The strategy to cut off the means of payments and telecommunications would make it almost impossible for the illegal operators to serve their clients.
At the same time, Kazakhstan is considering expanding its land-based gambling sector by creating new gambling zones focused on tourism. The proposed venues would be located in Mangistau, Panfilov district and Lake Alakol, Talgar district and the Markakol and Zaisan areas, with access expected to be restricted to foreign visitors.
