Uzbekistan Approves Fines for Betting Operators and Illegal Gambling Activities
Uzbekistan’s National Agency for Prospective Projects (NAPP) has approved a new regulation on penalties for lottery organisers and betting operators. The document, endorsed by the Ministry of Justice, will come into force in three months and introduces a detailed framework for calculating fines based on the severity and duration of violations.
Penalties will be imposed following inspections, player complaints or registry findings. The frequency of violations, impact on users’ finances and past enforcement outcomes will be taken into account. Half of the collected fines will go to the state budget, with the remainder allocated to NAPP’s own accounts.
Final decisions on fines will be made by the agency’s head, based on recommendations from a special commission. Offending companies will have 15 days to appeal after receiving notice of the penalty.
What Violations Will Be Fined?
The regulation specifies several types of infractions. Companies operating after having their licence revoked will be fined 1% of their minimum authorised capital. If violations are not corrected, first-time offences will be fined at 0.3%, increasing to 0.8% for repeat cases within a year.
Using restricted phrases such as state, state-supported, Uzbekistan or names of cities in promotional slogans will incur fines of 0.1%, rising to 0.3% if repeated.
Bookmakers and lottery organisers caught providing services to minors will be fined 0.8% for a first offence and 1% for repeat violations. Betting on youth or children’s sporting events will result in penalties of 0.7% and 1% respectively.
Steep Fines for Foreign Operators
The regulation also targets foreign companies offering illegal gambling services to Uzbek citizens. Firms without a valid licence will be fined 25,000 base calculation units (BCUs), equivalent to 9.3 bln UZS.
Accepting payments without authorisation will result in a 10,000 BCU fine (3.7 bln UZS). Operating unauthorised casinos, slot machines or similar establishments will also attract a 25,000 BCU penalty.
Advertising illegal gambling services will lead to fines of 10,000 BCUs, or 3.7 bln UZS. The new rules mark a sharp tightening of regulatory oversight aimed at protecting consumers and formalising Uzbekistan’s gambling sector.
Kursiv also reports that Uzbekistan’s Central Bank imposed penalties worth UZS 16.6 bln ($1.3 mln) on 52 financial institutions over the course of 2024.
