Kazakhstan is set to tighten lending rules for those considered to be actively involved in gambling, with banks instructed to take only official income into account when assessing their creditworthiness.
Those who have spend more than KZT 300,000 on gambling over a six-month period, while making at least six such transactions, will be classified by banks as ''active gamblers.'' This criteria has been established by Kazakh National Bank.
Such status does not immediately mean that an individual will be denied credit. However, it does affect the credit score.
The new lending criteria comes as Kazakhstan continues to strengthen its approach to financial risks associated with betting.
Kazakhstan has seen a series of recent regulatory developments and enforcement actions in its gambling sector.
Authorities have moved to tighten controls on illegal online gambling payments. They uncovered schemes that use mobile phone balances to fund unlicensed casino activity.
The Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) issued instructions to telecom providers to strengthen monitoring and introduce systems to detect and block suspicious transactions.
Regarding the licensed market, under Government Resolution No. 167, bookmakers and totalisators are required to transfer 3.3% of each accepted bet. This rule took effect on 27 March 2026.
The country has also introduced updated rules restricting access to casinos, slot machine halls and betting venues in several regions to foreign nationals only. These changes took effect on 17 May, and new gambling zones will also be limited to foreign visitors.
In February, President Tokayev signed a law establishing the new gambling zones mentioned. Alongside the existing zones in Kapchagay and Burabay, four new areas may be created in the Mangystau, Zhetysu, Almaty and East Kazakhstan regions.
Following this, Kazakh Minister of Tourism and Sports Yerbol Myrzabossynov announced plans for two new casinos to open next year in the Almaty and Mangystau regions.
In June, the country’s gambling self-exclusion register contained around 224,000 active individuals
