Uzbekistan has legalized gambling.

[Coyster]

Only online gambling is allowed, physical casinos are still banned in Uzbekistan. Online gambling was legalized in the country more than a year ago, January 1, 2025. I am curious why the authorities allow online gambling, but prohibited land-based gambling, not that it would worry players too much, but i'd like to know the thought-process behind that.

I do not know how big the gambling market is in Uzbekistan, but i do not think too many casinos would bother about getting their license, they would operate as an "illegal" entity and offer their services to players from the country.

[Hispo]

Only online gambling is allowed, physical casinos are still banned in Uzbekistan. Online gambling was legalized in the country more than a year ago, January 1, 2025. I am curious why the authorities allow online gambling, but prohibited land-based gambling, not that it would worry players too much, but i'd like to know the thought-process behind that.

I do not know how big the gambling market is in Uzbekistan, but i do not think too many casinos would bother about getting their license, they would operate as an "illegal" entity and offer their services to players from the country.

I don't understand such logic either, online casinos are arguably more accessible than brick and mortar casinos, so if they are preventing the establishment of brick and mortar casinos for the sake of protecting citizens from gambling addiction, I don't think that is a measure which makes much sense.

Perhaps, it is rather about a cultural think... They want to regulate and collect taxes from gambling, but they don't want companies to build actual gambling floors in their cities, since gambling is frown upon in their territory.
As it stands, it seems the government of Ubezkistan is being as pragmatic as possible within opening the floodgates of gambling liberalism.

[hedgeh0g]

Only online gambling is allowed, physical casinos are still banned in Uzbekistan. Online gambling was legalized in the country more than a year ago, January 1, 2025. I am curious why the authorities allow online gambling, but prohibited land-based gambling, not that it would worry players too much, but i'd like to know the thought-process behind that.

I do not know how big the gambling market is in Uzbekistan, but i do not think too many casinos would bother about getting their license, they would operate as an "illegal" entity and offer their services to players from the country.

Perhaps the regulators decided to allow investors with capital to enter this market possibly with the expectation that a portion of their revenue would be paid in taxes, or something along those lines. There may also be agreements in place that are not publicly disclosed. On the other hand, legalizing online gambling is not necessarily a bad thing, provided it is subject to proper, finely-tuned regulation ensuring, for instance, that there is no unchecked advertising and that it does not exert a widespread influence on the minds of minors, which could otherwise lead to difficulties for them later in life.

[Captain Corporate]

Only online gambling is allowed, physical casinos are still banned in Uzbekistan. Online gambling was legalized in the country more than a year ago, January 1, 2025. I am curious why the authorities allow online gambling, but prohibited land-based gambling, not that it would worry players too much, but i'd like to know the thought-process behind that.

I do not know how big the gambling market is in Uzbekistan, but i do not think too many casinos would bother about getting their license, they would operate as an "illegal" entity and offer their services to players from the country.

Perhaps the regulators decided to allow investors with capital to enter this market possibly with the expectation that a portion of their revenue would be paid in taxes, or something along those lines. There may also be agreements in place that are not publicly disclosed. On the other hand, legalizing online gambling is not necessarily a bad thing, provided it is subject to proper, finely-tuned regulation ensuring, for instance, that there is no unchecked advertising and that it does not exert a widespread influence on the minds of minors, which could otherwise lead to difficulties for them later in life.

Yeah, you can expect more countries to copy what Dubai did 2 decades before. I mean, regardless of what a religion taught, when government look for generating revenue, you can expect this type of approval even on gambling from the regulators. When most part of the world is in brink of facing recession, I am able to get the agenda behind this type of decisions. Moreover, in this digital era where you do not need big set up for running a casino but just a server to offer online experience, you cannot prohibit gambling with new generations.

So, instead of leaving off a highly digital influenced segment, regulating it and allowing as a business to generate an income stream must be a wise move in my opinion as well. And I am expecting more countries to join the list as mobile gambling already started penetrating mid age people as well.

[MArsland]

Only online gambling is allowed, physical casinos are still banned in Uzbekistan. Online gambling was legalized in the country more than a year ago, January 1, 2025. I am curious why the authorities allow online gambling, but prohibited land-based gambling, not that it would worry players too much, but i'd like to know the thought-process behind that.

Land based gambling certainly requires transportation for any gambler who wants to play, with everything online accessible from anywhere with a wider market reach, budget efficiency than setting up land based gambling, much greater operational costs for land, building, security, cleaning and labor costs. Perhaps another reason why land based gambling is banned in Uzbekistan is because the majority of its citizens are Muslims, so casino buildings can cause a lot of problems. Imao that makes sense.

[moneystery]

As far as I know, Uzbekistan is a predominantly Muslim country, but apparently the religious leaders have no influence there, otherwise they would not have allowed the approval of such a law concerning the legalization of gambling.
...

They might be countries with a Muslim majority, but their governments follow a secular system. So religion and government are separated. But even so, it's actually quite surprising to see that there are Muslim-majority countries that legalize gambling, because as far as I know, Muslim-majority countries are usually very strict about gambling. Only Malaysia is quite unique because even though they have a full gambling ban, they have big gambling resorts in Genting. Besides that, Indonesia and other Muslim-majority countries strictly forbid gambling.

[Charles-Tim]

Land based gambling certainly requires transportation for any gambler who wants to play, with everything online accessible from anywhere with a wider market reach, budget efficiency than setting up land based gambling, much greater operational costs for land, building, security, cleaning and labor costs. Perhaps another reason why land based gambling is banned in Uzbekistan is because the majority of its citizens are Muslims, so casino buildings can cause a lot of problems. Imao that makes sense.

If land based gambling is not allowed in Uzbekistan, it is also very possible that the country will frown against gambling ads both physical and probably online. Although, I think legalizing online gambling is enough. People do not necessarily need to go to land based gambling places before they can gamble. Their devices like computers and phones can be used to access the gambling sites.

Maybe the country will later accept land based gambling, but taking one step at a time.

[Mrbluntzy]

It is good that the law prohibits minors and government employees from gambling, but I did not understand what "persons recognized as incompetent" means. This phrase can be interpreted in many ways; the law needs to be more specific.

I agree, there need to be a clarification about what they actually mean by incompetent. When I first read it, I thought that maybe they meant someone who have some kind of illness that can make them easily fall into addiction but I guess I could be wrong as they might also mean a different class of people like their religious leaders. Since they decided to legalize gambling, I also expect that they will have strict laws that will prevent problems gambling to its lowest point and also provide means to treat people that might be faced with the problem later just as some countries are doing. Self exclusion service should be enforced as soon as possible, if it's not yet done.

[2stout]

It appears more and more places want a piece of the gambling pie and will figure out religious compromises if necessary to make it work, with Uzbekistan being the latest.  I guess the justification would be a virtual presence vs a physical presence since the gambling is taking place in cyber land.  If they make taxes attractive, they can attract investment as other corporations will be leaving areas that are increasing taxes and thus are looking for safer havens. 

[henmark]

It turns out to be quite an interesting story. In a country where the vast majority of the population is Muslim, they suddenly legalize casinos and betting. It seems that when it comes to billions in tax revenues for the budget, religion can take a back seat, or even a third seat. Of course, I suspect the local population was already losing money in some sort of basement casinos anyway; it's just that now they will be doing it officially, and the government will be able to collect taxes, filling its budget through gambling.

I was actually thinking about the same thing just like many others. A country which is basically a Muslim country based on its overall population, but then I remembered that they actually have a secular constitution, which means they believe that they should separate religion from governance, and that the constitution of the country would not specifically be influenced by the religion they mostly practice, because as you said, about 85% up to 94% of the population consists of Muslims practicing Islam, which preaches that gambling is prohibited and is a sin, but the government definitely has a different ideology they want to follow.

The interesting thing would be to see and observe the public reactions to this change, and whether they are in its favour or oppose the decision because most of them are Muslims and they are religiously not allowed to gamble. However, based on my research, the country runs on an authoritarian rule, which means that there are no individual oppositions ready to fight for presidential rights, which means that the same government continues and once the current president is gone, I guess a blood relative takes the place and the governance continues that way.

[AmaGold70]

The Uzbekistan president must have seen the need to allow gambling, and gambling platforms in the country. Probably they want to generate income from these gambling companies, and also use it as an avenue to create employment in that particular area. However, the regulatory aspect remains the most vital aspect to look into. While they have already deployed regulatory body, the interest of gamblers should be strictly protected, and ensure their is no form of abuse of gambling among the gamblers. Adoption of gambling is one thing, but it is also another thing to ensure the regulatory system work well to maintain some kind of discipline both from the gambling companies, and as well the gamblers.

[Josefjix]

Only online gambling is allowed, physical casinos are still banned in Uzbekistan. Online gambling was legalized in the country more than a year ago, January 1, 2025. I am curious why the authorities allow online gambling, but prohibited land-based gambling, not that it would worry players too much, but i'd like to know the thought-process behind that.

Online gambling is easy to control, easy to set rules through integration and kyc process. If it's been said that some set of people are prohibited, it would be easier to stop them through kyc verification process. And I'm sure the government had made it possible to conduct and accept kyc before deposit and betting. To select who qualifes and not, so maintaining their plan to be possible, all through digital means of screening.

It would be harder to screen land based gambling, would be extremely hard.

What I always say too is that, an observer should be integrated when a player is over predicting and doing too much, such player should be restricted from continuing till the next 24hrs, to prevent addiction.

[Emitdama]

With the rise of online technologies, it seems it's either you legalize it or they continue operating illegally. In which case, you better open the market, earn from it, and regulate it as you see fit.

We only need a VPN to bypass gambling restrictions and VPN is not even a new technology. Also illegalities are already there even before new technologies came in. But illegal betting platforms and their players are still going to be careful to not get caught and punished because the punishment for this is also tough. So that still can lessen gambling addiction, better than if gambling is fully legal. This is not only about earnings but the public's life is at risk here and that is more important. Remember government's role is to protect them.

Especially if the country isn't extremely strict in its implementation, illegal gambling will always find a way to operate, therefore addiction and other social illness would continue to plague the nation, and you might not have the necessary cure or defenses since gambling is illegal.

This sounds like gambling is legal already but yeah, there are still illegal on here like if the casino does not have a license. Then there are illegal in a way that they do some manipulations. But we can also lessen this if gambling is not legal in a country.

[ColdLava40]

Only online gambling is allowed, physical casinos are still banned in Uzbekistan. Online gambling was legalized in the country more than a year ago, January 1, 2025. I am curious why the authorities allow online gambling, but prohibited land-based gambling, not that it would worry players too much, but i'd like to know the thought-process behind that.

I do not know how big the gambling market is in Uzbekistan, but i do not think too many casinos would bother about getting their license, they would operate as an "illegal" entity and offer their services to players from the country.

We already know that such restrictions will not completely eliminate gambling in the country, especially since there are many illegal gambling sites that people can still access using virtual private networks.

Perhaps land-based casinos could not cope with the strict regulations and high taxes required to operate, forcing many of them to shut down when the government demanded it.

Online casinos, on the other hand, are much easier to operate. Even if they are required to pay taxes, it may be easier for the government to regulate them online.

I honestly don't see the need to restrict gambling in the first place if the government will eventually allow it again in the future.

[Smartprofit]

It will be interesting to see what happens when this idea is implemented. 🙋

What's the point of residents of Uzbekistan playing in local casinos when there are excellent international online casinos? What could motivate them to do so? Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if residents of Uzbekistan are fined for gambling in unlicensed online casinos. The government, unfortunately, often uses this method to combat its competitors. If the situation develops this way, residents of Uzbekistan may begin to look back with nostalgia to the times before gambling was legalized in the country.

In countries (former Soviet republics), such administrative decisions often lead not to good results, but to increased corruption. I fear this will end with players being forced to play in licensed casinos, while those who play in other (unlicensed) ones will be punished. There is also a risk that licenses will be issued only to companies with ties to government officials. Unfortunately, this often happens in the post-Soviet space.🤷

[Davidvictorson]

Another country has legalized gambling, and this one is Uzbekistan. The story began back in 2019, when the Ministry of Sports Development discussed the legalization project, and the president even signed a decree legalizing bookmaking from January 1, 2021.
After that, there was a long break until 2024. On April 19, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree "On measures to improve the regulation of the organization and conduct of lotteries and risk-based games." After issuing licenses, companies are allowed to organize risk-based games online and conduct bookmaking from January 1, 2025.
The National Agency for Prospective Projects (NAPP) became the regulator: it develops the rules and issues permits.

There are restrictions on who can play: minors, persons recognized as incompetent, certain categories of civil servants, and those included in special social registries are prohibited from participating. Currently, two Russian gambling companies operate in the country: Olimpbet (olimpbet.uz) and Aurum Vale (oltinbet.uz).
However, analysts note the lack of transparency in the licensing process and the practice of forcing "partners" to complete the process. Furthermore, this is a relatively new type of licensed activity, which could lead to the emergence of addictive gamblers.

This is good and I applaud them for this step. However, I think that this is not all that there is. It should also be followed by programs aimed at reducing gambling harm.
Both of them should go hand in hand.
In addition, the call to transparency of licensing should be taking seriously and they come out to clear the air on that. That is one of the least things that they can and should do.
Also, like a user has clearly pointed out, they should clarify what categories of people they are referring to here "persons recognized as incompetent"

[Patikno]

As far as I know, Uzbekistan is a predominantly Muslim country, but apparently the religious leaders have no influence there, otherwise they would not have allowed the approval of such a law concerning the legalization of gambling.

Maybe, the country has a secular understanding; that separates religion from government affairs. So, you can still find Muslim-majority countries that still legalize gambling, such as Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Uzbekistan. Although there are still strict rules in place.

In my opinion, gambling is actually profitable for countries that legalize it, and it can be a significant source of revenue for the state treasury. However, age restrictions and education regarding gambling also need to be promoted, so that citizens can exercise self-control when gambling.

[Renampun]

For a country with a Muslim majority, legalizing gambling surprises me because gambling is haram for Muslims.. How can they possibly expect people to gamble in their country when the majority of the population is Muslim? That means they've already accepted that there are likely to be more Muslims who might violate the rules of their own religion.. But that probably comes down to each individual, since discussing religion and gambling is a sensitive topic, and we can't expect everyone to strictly adhere to their own religion.

[uchegod-21]

For a country with a Muslim majority, legalizing gambling surprises me because gambling is haram for Muslims.. How can they possibly expect people to gamble in their country when the majority of the population is Muslim? That means they've already accepted that there are likely to be more Muslims who might violate the rules of their own religion.. But that probably comes down to each individual, since discussing religion and gambling is a sensitive topic, and we can't expect everyone to strictly adhere to their own religion.

It also gets me thinking: did the government just realise that the world is advancing and that they cannot deny eligible adults the right to do what they want, or like every other government, do they also want to generate revenue from gambling? The latter could probably be the case.

I don't agree that any religion has that much power to restrict an adult from exercising their rights. They can only convince adults and influence their choices through constant persuasion, not through the numerous laws we see in Muslim countries.

Now that gambling has been legalised, it is the responsibility of individual citizens to decide whether they want to gamble or not, not the government telling them what to do.

[yhiaali3]

As far as I know, Uzbekistan is a predominantly Muslim country, but apparently the religious leaders have no influence there, otherwise they would not have allowed the approval of such a law concerning the legalization of gambling.

I dont want to sound bad, but people always manage to find a loophole in religion. Gambling is haram, in UAE it is forbidden, but it is allowed to run raffles. Gambling is forbidden, but they in UAE are building Wynn Al Marjan Island, as a special place to gamble. Same goes with fighting. Quran does not allow it, but allow only self-defense, however look at how popular and developed combat sport is in UAE. Uzbekistan most likely will create a special zone or place that only there gambling will be allowed or allowed companies to register. People will find in religion saying something about special place and will use that as excuse for legalization.

Yes, I agree with you. People always find a loophole in religion. It is true that most Islamic countries prohibit gambling, but many of their citizens do it in secret or travel to neighboring countries. Also, there are large Islamic countries like Turkey that do not prohibit gambling.

I believe that this has to do with the extent of the influence of religious figures in the government. In some Islamic countries, religious figures have a great influence on the people, so the government is afraid to do anything that would anger them, while in some other Islamic countries, such as the UAE and Turkey, they do not have this influence.