Kazakhstan Gov’t Has Blocked Access to 17,000 Online Casino-related Sites This Year

The government of Kazakhstan says it has blocked residents’ access to over 17,000 online casino-related websites since the start of 2025.

The claims come from the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Financial Monitoring, the nation’s anti-money laundering regulator, the Kazakh media outlet Khabar reported.

Officials say that they are continuing their “fight against illegal gambling in Kazakhstan.” They say they have a dual focus, as crackdowns continue against online operators and illegal, land-based gambling dens.

Kazakhstan: Online Casino Sites Now Biggest Threat

Police and agency spokespeople believe their efforts against underground casinos have proven largely successful.

However, they said, online casinos operating from overseas locations have instead become their “biggest threat.”

Using overseas casino sites is illegal in Kazakhstan. But the popularity of these sites remains high in the country.

The government has responded by issuing geoblocking orders against casino sites. It has instructed domestic IP providers to stop their users from accessing blacklisted URLs.

The agency said that since the beginning of the year, it has added “more than 17,000” casino-related addresses to the blacklist. Most of these sites are “mirrors of overseas sites,” it added.

Police say they have also identified “several domestic payment platforms” that they think have “facilitated illegal financial transactions” involving overseas betting sites.

The agency has also issued warnings to Kazakh bloggers and social media stars. It said that many of these individuals have flaunted the law by using their platforms to advertise gambling sites.

It said it had identified dozens of influencers who have “received large sums of money for promoting online casinos.”

Some of these individuals have systematically violated the law even after being hit with fines have been imposed.

Police have asked Kazakh bloggers and social media stars to show social responsibility to their followers by refusing to work with online casinos.

Crackdown on Land-based Gambling Dens Working, Says Gov’t

Agency spokesperson Yernar Taizhan said that in the past two and a half years, police have shut down 205 underground casinos.

Courts have also prosecuted 224 individuals for land-based gambling-related offences. But no illegal land-based gambling-related arrests have been made thus far this year, Taizhan said.

The agency claimed that this was evidence that illegal casinos are now becoming harder to find in Kazakhstan.

However, Taizhan said: “The agency has identified 34 bloggers and influencers involved in advertising online gambling. Eleven of these have been charged with violations of the criminal code. We have also sent cases involving 23 content creators to the Ministry of Culture for further action.”

Kazakhstan announced a major overhaul of its gambling framework in late 2023. The government has since begun ordering regulated casinos to provide it with data on customers’ losses and gains.