Uzbekistan has legalized gambling.

[Maslate]

Muslim country legalizing gambling and offering licenses is I think the new norm in this time and date,

Although Uzbekistan is a Muslim country with over 90% of its population being Muslim, its government is independent of religion since it follows a secular system, so its decisions are not necessarily based on religion, otherwise gambling would be banned.

A little correction: Uzbekistan is not a Muslim country; it just has most of its citizens as Muslims. Uzbekistan is a secular state with a secular system of government.

when I said that Uzbekistan being a Muslim country, I was referring to its population since majority are Muslims.
And I already mentioned about their government system.

The new development creates a new temptation for the overwhelming Muslim population in Uzbekistan because with gambling legalized, it becomes a bigger challenge trying to avoid gambling that is prohibited by the religion practiced.

I doubt that it will just be the 10% of people who are in other religions that allow gambling that will be gambling.

This is speculative as you can never guarantee the remaining non Muslims population will support gambling.

[stadus]

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.

There's only one reason, they don't have the same principle with other Muslims, many Muslims country are implementing their law based on their teaching, this country is different. We don't know what's the main reason but my guess is to increase tax collection.

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.

Gambling is a sin, that's for the Muslim,, so it should be prohibited, but we cannot deny there are still Muslims who gamble, so it's just really up to them.
me I'm no Muslim, so I don't see gambling as a sin, it's only a sin if you don't behave responsibly.

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.

yeah, ( government's job here is only to collect taxes)

[TopTort777]

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.

Isnt it funny that for some people, religion works only when they are at home or at motherland, but whey they are abroad, as if some of religion believes stop working or can be ignored. If gambling is forbidden in Islam religion, then why they love so much to argue over something and place bets to prove their point of view? I bet my car is faster than yours. I bet my horse is faster than yours. If that is not gambling, than what it is? They dont gamble in a classic that we are used to, but many of them gamble between each other.

[leea-1334]

Welcome to secular Islam   Do not be surprised even more famous Muslim countries have legal casinos and legal gambling,,, but supposedly to cater for non-Muslims though you will find plenty of Muslims, I can personally attest to it :

If I'm not mistaken, there is a country in the Middle East, namely the United Arab Emirates which has a licensed gambling site, then there is Lebanon which has been operating for a long time. No wonder when the gambling sector can reap profits then the government can violate whatever it wants, without thinking about the impact.

Like I said before,,, there is big difference in secular Islam and pure/strict Islamic country, and I guess culturally what is acceptable in terms of gambling. A truly strict Islamic view does not even let lucky draws happen,,, anything based on pure luck is illegal or not permissible. We are talking less about religion now and pure economics. So Uzbekistan, come on, it is not a shocker. They drink like fish there too  

[DanWalker]

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 point of your seems extremely concerning to me. I have already heard lot of whisper about how impartial NAPP licensing process is.

My perspective is that, as you mentioned, two Russian based company Olimpbet and Aurum Vale have already established foothold in market in very first phase. So in an emerging market like Uzbekistan failing to provide opportunities to global Tier 1 operator or keeping process complex so as to favor only specific regional companies is not any positive sign. I am sure this creates significant risk that local market could fall under control of specific syndicate right from the start.

[OlarValdo]

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.

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 think it's about people with disabilities so that relatives or other close people can't play using their data. And overall this is probably a top 3 most unexpected country to legalize gambling.

[Obari]

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.

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 was shocked that the country legalized gambling and I had to go back to confirm if maybe I was wrong but no i was right about the country being predominantly a Muslim country and legalizing gambling in such a country to me isn't a welcome development but well, since the world is already changing at a faster pace, I guess I wouldn't be surprised if to see more surprising updates like this on the future.

How will they be able to identify when someone from any of the restricted groups gambles or will they run a strict KYC system?

[ZeroVinsonN]

It stands to reason. A country that bans gambling simply ends up losing tax revenue and leaving consumers unprotected. What the OP failed to mention is why he is reporting this now, given that gambling was officially legalised almost two years ago. He should have specified that, following legalisation, the licences for those companies were issued a few months ago.

It may have been old news (which should have been pointed out) bits it's still news some people, myself included especially wil how most Muslim countries don't allow gambling or any related activity.
It's very likely that illegal gambling was a thing before this legalization so a smart government would stop trying to fight it and instead try to control it and also make money from it, gambling addiction might become a public sensation now but it was probably already there plus operators won't allow minors and other restricted from gambling which was probably something illegal sites did not care for before now.

[Exitoral]

I hope the country is aware of the disadvantages gambling has on its citizens? I also hope the government there has precautionary measures that will be activated if the gambling addiction gets out of hand. I hope gamblers interest alongside casinos interest will the met so the both sides don't have a problem. Basically I hope the government has learnt both the negative and the positive side of gambling from other countries on it's people. Let's not come and hear stories that casinos that and this refused to pay. This and that here and there.

[AmaGold70]

As a new system fully supported by the government of Uzbekistan, I am sure the licence will have some sections that's that will possibly talk about the part of addiction, because there will be an increased rate of gambling addiction within the country as time goes on. The part of "forcing partners to complete the process..." (which is not clearly stated) will be another section that will make the users of these gambling platforms be the victims of whatever may be the final agreement on the licence.

It is a good things for there to be restrictions on minors, and other sets of the people in the country as that will help mitigate addiction from some sets of the citizens.

I think that the most challenging part of gambling is addiction, otherwise nothing is wrong with gambling. Some people actually see gambling as fun, and those are the people we call responsible gamblers and they never allow gambling to distract them from attending to other vital issues, family , and work, but to some persons, gambling will even worsen their situation, and that is why more attention should be payed to addiction. Gambling being present in Uzbekistan might not be entirely wrong especially if the regulatory body is doing their work well because while they might be making money from the gambling company, the government will also ensure that the system is well controlled to protect gambler or citizens also.

[BALIK]

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.

On paper, these restriction sound very good. But how strictly will KYC and identity verification be enforced on online platform I don’t know. However, in our Asian country, it is often observed that such social restriction can be easily bypassed by using fake ID or third party wallet.

Therefore, any operation conducted by NAPP without this central database and real time ID verification system along with this social registry filter will amount to nothing more than mere facade.

[Yorubek]

As a new system fully supported by the government of Uzbekistan, I am sure the licence will have some sections that's that will possibly talk about the part of addiction, because there will be an increased rate of gambling addiction within the country as time goes on. The part of "forcing partners to complete the process..." (which is not clearly stated) will be another section that will make the users of these gambling platforms be the victims of whatever may be the final agreement on the licence.

It is a good things for there to be restrictions on minors, and other sets of the people in the country as that will help mitigate addiction from some sets of the citizens.

I think that the most challenging part of gambling is addiction, otherwise nothing is wrong with gambling. Some people actually see gambling as fun, and those are the people we call responsible gamblers and they never allow gambling to distract them from attending to other vital issues, family , and work, but to some persons, gambling will even worsen their situation, and that is why more attention should be payed to addiction. Gambling being present in Uzbekistan might not be entirely wrong especially if the regulatory body is doing their work well because while they might be making money from the gambling company, the government will also ensure that the system is well controlled to protect gambler or citizens also.

Gambling addiction is the most dangerous, which is enough to destroy a gambler financially and mentally. Those who gamble mainly for fun can control their own limits, control their emotions and greed, take the right decisions, take the time to maintain self-control over themselves, and can keep themselves free from gambling addiction, but very few people gamble for entertainment, control their emotions, take the right decisions, and gamble within their means, which can protect them from the destruction of gambling.

Gambling rules should not only be created, they should be implemented properly. If the government properly monitors gambling, then casinos are obliged to operate according to the correct rules. However, to avoid the harm of gambling, government laws alone are not enough, it is very important for gamblers to be aware of their own.

[uchegod-21]

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.

Gambling is a sin, that's for the Muslim,, so it should be prohibited, but we cannot deny there are still Muslims who gamble, so it's just really up to them.
me I'm no Muslim, so I don't see gambling as a sin, it's only a sin if you don't behave responsibly.

If gambling is prohibited throughout the entire country because of Muslim laws, what then happens to Christians and people of other religions, including foreigners who visit the country? That is why I don't agree with such strict laws that interfere in people's lives, especially when they are imposed for purely religious reasons.

Now that gambling is legal in Uzbekistan, I believe they will also make the necessary provisions to protect gamblers from exploitation by gambling platforms in the country.

Even with the legalisation of gambling, sensitisation should be carried out so that gamblers do not end up becoming addicted. The decision to legalise gambling should not be solely about generating tax income, but more about giving citizens freedom.

[Franklyn-wood]

It stands to reason. A country that bans gambling simply ends up losing tax revenue and leaving consumers unprotected. What the OP failed to mention is why he is reporting this now, given that gambling was officially legalised almost two years ago. He should have specified that, following legalisation, the licences for those companies were issued a few months ago.

It may have been old news (which should have been pointed out) bits it's still news some people, myself included especially wil how most Muslim countries don't allow gambling or any related activity.
It's very likely that illegal gambling was a thing before this legalization so a smart government would stop trying to fight it and instead try to control it and also make money from it, gambling addiction might become a public sensation now but it was probably already there plus operators won't allow minors and other restricted from gambling which was probably something illegal sites did not care for before now.

Before a country would come up with the decision of banishing gambling it most have caused great negative impacting to the citizens and the entire country. I feel that is the Best waythe government could help stop the gambling. They can get money from establishing gambling but it is not easy to control people who are addicted to gambling, it the government introduce gambling for financial purposes it fine but but not everyone can control themselves when it comes to losing money in the process of gambling and that's part of the reason why some country completely ban.