Kazakhstan’s betting market turnover reaches $2B, but fiscal impact lags behind revenue dynamics

Kazakhstan bookmakers have set a record for turnover — and a record for the gap between stakes and tax returns.

The Kazakhstani tax service has for the first time disclosed a full annual breakdown of the legal betting market for 2025. According to the Committee of State Revenues, bookmakers accepted $2B in stakes, of which $1.5B was returned to players as winnings. The operators’ GGR amounted to $521M. 

Tax returns, however, lagged behind the turnover: for the previous year of 2024, the volume of stakes stood at $1.2B — meaning the market doubled, whereas bookmakers transferred only $139M to the budget, compared to casinos and slot machine halls contributing $66M despite significantly lower turnovers.

Regulatory pressure cools the legal market

The legal market has shifted toward a slowdown. In the first quarter of 2026, operators accepted $329M in stakes and paid out $245M to players — noticeably lower than the quarterly average pace of the record-breaking 2025. According to the CSR, there are 596K unique players registered in the country, though the agency does not disclose a detailed demographic breakdown.

The slowdown is directly linked to tightening oversight: a total ban on bookmaker advertising has been in place since April 2025, and the mandatory Unified Betting Accounting System (UAS) was launched in January 2026. The Ministry of Finance confirms that the new barriers have already triggered a user outflow and a decline in deposit volumes within the legal sector.

Offshore growth in an onshore-dominated market

The tightening of rules within the licensed perimeter has predictably triggered a migration of the local audience to external platforms. According to extensive monitoring by Blask, which analyzes the activity of 98 brands operating in Kazakhstan, the cumulative market volume under the CEB metric was recorded at $1.19B for the 12-month period.

Even though the official onshore segment still maintains dominant positions and controls the lion’s share of financial flows, the offshore direction has completely lost its status as a statistical error. The shift in power is clear: in just five months of 2026 (January–May), offshore brands skyrocketed from 3.1% to 11.3% of total BAP demand. This rapid shift shows that tight local restrictions are forcing Kazakhstani players to look for alternative platforms outside the national regulator’s reach.

OlimpBet monopoly maintains leadership in demand and taxes

The competitive structure of the market is extremely concentrated: four operators — OlimpBet, 1xBet, Fonbet, and Parimatch — hold the overwhelming share of demand. OlimpBet leads with a CEB of $678.5M — more than half of the market’s cumulative competitive baseline.

Demand data by Blask confirms the CSR’s fiscal picture: OlimpBet single-handedly accounted for 56% of all tax deductions from the betting sector, directing about $77M to the budget.

Tight regulation squeezes the legal market — the audience moves offshore

Strict regulations successfully shrink the legal market, but players aren’t leaving. Instead, they are migrating offshore—outside Kazakhstan’s legal framework, tax-free, and free from UAS restrictions. Data from the CSR and Blask capture the same reality: the tighter the regulatory grip, the faster the non-transparent part of the market grows.