In an interview with the Kabar news agency, President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Japarov explained that his government had legalized casinos to attract foreign investment and promote tourism, as reported by Kaktus.media.
However, the president emphasized that Kyrgyz nationals are prohibited from going to casinos.
«There are three casinos in Bishkek. However, not a single Kyrgyz citizen has gone or will go there. We will close any casino if they let our people in,» Japarov said.
He also highlighted that, thanks to the legalization of gambling in 2022, about two dozen new hotels, including 5- and 7-star hotels, have emerged in the country. The amount of investment totaled $34.3 million, as casinos are obliged to build high-end hotels, giving an additional impetus to the economy.
According to Japarov, casino licenses cost millions, and their owners won’t put them at risk of being revoked. On the other hand, the government is cracking down on any illegal activity in this sphere.
In neighboring Kazakhstan, the majority of casinos are located in the town of Konaev (formerly known as Kapchagay) in the Almaty region. Authorities decided to concentrate casinos there after banning the gambling industry altogether in other parts of the country in 2007. Casinos were moved out of Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, to separate the gambling business from the everyday life of regular people.
Konaev was chosen thanks to its convenient location near the Kapchagay water reservoir and Almaty. Today, this is the center of gambling tourism in Kazakhstan, attracting gamblers from all over the region. However, more generally, this industry is in decline. One big casino has even been converted into the residence of the governor of the Almaty region.
