The gambling business is on the brink of ruin. Entrepreneurs say that because of the coming legislative changes more than 70 market players will lose their licenses. In general, the initiatives lead to the reduction of the country's investment attractiveness.

The problem was discussed at the site of the NCE RK "Atameken", with the participation of entrepreneurs, industry associations and government agencies.

Rules are changing​​​​​​​

The Committee for Sports and Physical Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan acts as the initiator of changes to the draft law on gambling business. There are five conceptual innovations; three of them are especially painful for business.

Firstly, the state agency plans to ban gambling slot machines as a separate type of activity in gaming zones. They will be allowed to install only at the casino. Secondly, it is proposed to introduce a bet operator and a rate center, that is, in the opinion of business, to actually monopolize the market. And thirdly, the organizers of the gambling business will be obliged to annually allocate at least 15% of net profit for the development of sports.

The state agency is sure that all changes will help to cope with the shadow market, provide security, and most importantly, transparency of the gambling sphere. But entrepreneurs do not agree with this.

Business does not agree!​​​​​​​

At once three branch associations appealed to the National Chamber. In particular, the introduction of a single operator, in their opinion, will lead to the decertification of bookmakers and sweepstakes. To put it simply, it will lead to the closing and reducing of approximately 2.5 thousand jobs.

Loss for the budget, according to entrepreneurs, will be estimated in billions of tenge. Only since the beginning of the year players of bookmaker offices ensured tax revenues of about 10 billion tenge.

"If it is a single operator, then is it the establishment of a monopoly in a particular sphere with the use of administrative resources of state power. We will repeat the fate of the lottery business. Such a decision will not save the market from illegal actors, but it will hit very hard on law-abiding players," - Gulmira Bergenova, executive director of SRO bookmaker and lottery business, said.​​​​​​​    

Investment attractiveness is doubtful

Initiatives of state bodies will not only lead to private problems of market players. They will become a serious barrier for investors, entrepreneurs are sure.

"We should not be misunderstood to be illegal immigrants, - says Vantim Zoukov, an investor from Greece. - Casino and slot machines are completely different legal entities. I came from Greece, where Kazakhstan is represented as a favorable country for investment. I built the building specifically for the slot machine hall, invested 2 billion tenge. And what happens now? I'm told to "move to the casino". In fact, I lose my investment!" - the investor complains.​​​​​​​

The president of the Kazakhstan Horse Race Association, Yerzhan Durumbetov, suggested "linking" the activity of sweepstakes and race tracks. This will help the equestrian sphere and its attractiveness for foreign investors. However, innovations in the draft law will not allow this.

According to the head of the "1XBet" bookmaker's office Maksat Kurmanov, today the gambling business pays an additional income tax in the amount of 20%, a monthly tax on every gambling table, gambling machine, from each cash register, and 10% of the PIT. Therefore deductions in the form of 15% of income for the development of sports will lead to a significant loss of profits.

The Ministry of National Economy, by the way, does not see the grounds on which slot machines should be located exclusively at the casino, considering it as an element of lobbying. Altogether this will create a social tension in the industry.

"Our position on the betting operator is unambiguous, we do not agree. If we monopolize the market, we will not solve the security problem, but we will deprive the market of competitiveness," - Aslanbek Jakupov, representative of the Ministry of National Economy of the RK, believes.

Consolidated position is necessary!

During the discussion, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the NCE RK "Atameken" Dinmukhamed Absattarov noted that in Kazakhstan there is no clear system of control over the gambling market by the authorized ministry. Toughening legislation for regulated business will not help the state to control shadow turnover, but instead, will push out investment flows from the country and increase the shadow market in this sector.

"Do not forget that the authorized body also faces the issue of lack of control in illegal business. But, there is the reverse of the coin: the more government agencies will tighten the law, the more business will seek ways to go into the shadows. For Kazakhstan, the gambling business is highly profitable and brings considerable infusions into the budget. Business and the state must jointly find a solution for regulating the gambling industry. Only the mutually rewarded work can make the business environment transparent and safe," - Dinmukhamed Absattarov summed up.

After a thorough discussion, the participants agreed to work out consolidated proposals of entrepreneurs and submit draft laws to the developers through Atameken.