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An international conference on regulating the gambling industry was held in Astana
On April 19th, the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with the Self-Regulatory Organization of Bookmakers of the Republic of Kazakhstan and consulting company 4H Agency, organized an international conference on "Regulating the Gambling Industry: International Experience and Kazakhstan."
The forum was attended by employees of the Ministry of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Information and Social Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Financial Monitoring Agency, the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market, the Department of Entrepreneurship and Tourism of the Akmola Region, the Tourism Department of the Almaty Region, the international consulting agency 4H Agency, as well as representatives of state regulatory bodies of the gambling industry from a number of CIS countries.
The conference was opened by Vice-Minister of Culture and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yerzhan Yerkinbayev, who emphasized the importance of this conference for the gambling industry of Kazakhstan in his welcoming speech. He noted that a detailed discussion and analysis of all relevant issues in this area is necessary for the interaction between the state and the gambling business community and international organizations. In addition, in the context of such cooperation with the business, effective response of the state to the demands of civil society is ensured.
Yerkinbayev outlined the key aspects of the development of the legal industry of gambling and betting in Kazakhstan, as well as the features of the current law enforcement practice in the field of state regulation of the industry. He talked about plans for further improvement of norms and regulations on compliance with the requirements of legislation in the gambling industry, combating money laundering and legalization of income by illegal market participants, optimizing the tax regime, as well as implementing the rights and interests of Kazakhstani citizens in this area.
"In Kazakhstan, there is no need to fight against legal bookmakers. They should be treated as a business entity and managed on the basis of the law. Any legal body should apply the law in the right direction, so that it works, and not fight against legal bookmakers. Our goal at todays conference was to explain to government structures how professional gambling business works in the world, how websites of illegal bookmakers harm its reputation and the industry as a whole, how leading bookmakers operate in developed countries. It is necessary to understand what undesirable and dangerous consequences can result from thoughtlessly adopted laws. We sought to convey all this information to government bodies," said Galymzhan Duambekov, the head of the Self-Regulatory Organization of Bookmakers of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Many current issues were touched upon and discussed, which are of interest to both gambling industry companies and consumers of their services. What are the peculiarities of activity of regulators of the gaming industry in developed countries? How will the regulation of the gambling business be carried out in 2023 in different states and regions: types of licenses, the process of licensing operators, and existing practices in different countries (including, for example, a complete ban on certain types of business, state monopoly, a ban on certain industry verticals or directions of activity, and a fully open market)? How is the interaction between the gaming and sports industries built, and how do bookmakers influence the development of major sports in our country and in developed countries? Why is it important to include the "responsible gambling" feature on the websites of all bookmakers? On these and many other issues, Kazakhstani experts and guests from CIS countries exchanged opinions, discussed current trends in individual states and around the world. Rich and very interesting discussions took place.
During the conference, reports were presented on the topics of "interaction between participants in the gambling industry," "peculiarities of the activity of European regulators of the gambling industry," and "sustainable development of the gambling industry."