Kyrgyzstan President Says Legalizing Casinos ‘Paid Off’ as Visitors Spend ‘Millions’

(AsiaGameHub) –   Legalizing casinos for foreign passport holders in 2022 has proven to be economically beneficial, according to the President of Kyrgyzstan, with visitors spending “millions” since the first Kyrgyz casinos opened.

The decision has “proven its worth economically,” President Sadyr Japarov said, per the Russian-language media outlet Gazeta.

“As far as the state is concerned, there is nothing reprehensible about our decision to enact the law,” he said. “This decision wasn’t made to further anyone’s personal interests. And time has proven us right.”

“When it was passed, there were concerns that Kyrgyz citizens would start visiting casinos, which would lead to ruined lives,” Japarov stated. “However, [since the first casinos opened], we have not seen a single case of a Kyrgyz citizen visiting a casino.”

Japarov: Legalizing Casinos ‘Not Reprehensible’

Japarov reiterated that Kyrgyz casinos are “only accessible to foreigners,” adding that they also generate revenue for the budget in the form of tourism revenues and taxes.

They have also created scores of new jobs, he added.

Japarov said that when it was drafting the 2022 legalization law, the government was “counting on tourists and wealthy citizens in neighboring countries.”

“Rich foreigners are leaving their wealth in Kyrgyzstan, and jobs are being created for our citizens,” the President said. “Thousands of our Kyrgyz citizens, who previously worked in countries like Cyprus, are returning to work in their homeland.”

The government outlawed casinos in 2012, with bookmakers and betting shops ordered to close in 2015.

Officials said at the time they were responding to “numerous complaints” from the relatives of people who had “lost their property and their savings.”

But the 2022 law reversed the 2012 ban, albeit with one key caveat.

Casinos: A Kyrgyz Tourism Boost?

The 2022 law prohibits Kyrgyz citizens and foreign passport holders under 21 from visiting casinos.

“Casinos generate revenue for the budget, while our citizens suffer no losses,” Japarov said. “That’s the key result. We have achieved a balance. The millions our wealthy citizens once lost abroad are now offset by the money foreign visitors lose in Kyrgyzstan.”

“The money returns to the country through tourism,” the President concluded. “And that was our main goal in drafting this law.”

Despite the President’s claims, illegal online casino operators continue to target domestic gamblers.

Earlier this year, promoters took over the former website of a state-owned trading company. The company, now defunct, was previously run by Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers.

The promoters used the website to redirect visitors to the Olymp Casino betting platform.

The platform operators offered a range of sports betting and slots options, allowing patrons to pay in Kyrgyz currency.