Kazakhstan iGaming market 2026: how payment rules crashed licensed bookmakers

Kazakhstan’s iGaming market had been declining since January, but three regulatory measures turned the slowdown into a market-wide crash by June.

Kazakhstan’s licensed iGaming market lost nearly 70% of its Blask Index from January to June 2026 — the sharpest decline Blask has recorded in a major CIS market. Three regulatory measures triggered the crash, and one bookmaker turned the disruption into a competitive advantage. 

Kazakhstan’s licensed bookmakers lost 70% of demand in six months

Onshore brands took the hardest hit in the broader decline, with their Blask Index falling nearly 70% from January to June.

The trouble started on March 5, when the ESU went live with mandatory integration through NomadPay. Banks cut off deposits and withdrawals for almost every local bookmaker, and tight deadlines left many operators unprepared. Tennisi CEO Ruslan Suleymanov explained that the legal market effectively ground to a halt. 

While licensed operators couldn’t process payments, offshore brands’ share of total BAP rose 9 percentage points, from 3% in February to 12% in April, as some players shifted to unlicensed platforms. But on May 1, the Financial Monitoring Agency ordered mobile carriers to block payments to illegal online casinos. Offshore Blask Index also fell after that, declining 11.7% from March to June.

Fonbet was the only bookmaker that never went offline

From March to June, Blask Index kept falling for most brands hit by the payment freeze: 1xBet dropped 36.76% month over month, Parimatch fell 22.36%, Bet365 dropped 26.91%, and Vavada fell 33.77%.

Fonbet was the exception — the brand had already completed its integration and never stopped processing payments. Blask Index jumped in March as competitors stumbled, and it added another 20.95% month over month in June. Fonbet’s demand jump lines up with the exact window when competitors were locked out, a direct transfer of players rather than organic growth.

OlimpBet, which also temporarily paused operations during the switch to the new payment system, is recovering more slowly. Its Blask Index rose 13% from May to June but remained 8% below its March level and was still down 0.55% YoY.

After months of decline, Kazakhstan’s iGaming market reached a floor and began a gradual recovery in June. OlimpBet remains the clear leader, while Fonbet strengthened its position during the payment disruption.