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Sovereign state
Asia
ISO KG

Kyrgyzstan: gambling regulation and licensing

  • Online casinoRegulated
  • Online sports bettingRegulated
  • Online pokerRegulated
  • Horse race bettingRegulated
  • Land-based (reference)Regulated
Regulator
Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Finnadzor)
Headline tax
2% GGR
Licence required
Yes
Last verified
23 Sept 2026

Summary

Kyrgyzstan re-opened gambling in 2022 as an export industry. Law No. 50 of 30 June 2022 repealed the 2011 prohibition and licensed casinos, bookmakers, totalizators and online casinos on one condition that shapes everything else: players must be foreign citizens aged 21 or over, and a licence must be revoked if a Kyrgyz citizen is admitted. The regulator is the Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service (Finnadzor), which has licensed land-based gambling since 2022 and took over online casinos from the communications regulator in January 2024. Licences go to resident companies for ten years, per establishment and activity, once a cash reserve fund is in place. Fees are set in calculation indices of 100 som: up to 84 million som for a casino, 10.5 million som for a bookmaker, 8.4 million som for an online casino Operator and 1.26 million som for an Administrator, the platform that admits Operators. Casinos must sit in hotels, and bookmakers only inside casinos. On 23 September 2026 Finnadzor listed 29 active licences held by 19 companies: 5 casinos, 2 bookmakers, 12 Administrators and 10 Operators. The gambling tax replaces profit tax, VAT and sales tax: fixed monthly sums per table, machine or betting desk on land, and 2% of revenue less winnings for online casinos in 2026, rising to 3% in 2027. The Treasury recorded 333.2 million som of gambling tax in the first half of 2026, 95% of it from casinos and 2.0 million som from online casinos. Gambling advertising is banned outright. A bill on online lotteries and binary options was pulled from a parliamentary committee agenda in September 2026.

Common pitfalls

Reading the online licence as access to a domestic market: players must be foreign citizens, and admitting a Kyrgyz citizen means mandatory revocation. Assuming Finnadzor has always regulated online casinos: the communications regulator did until January 2024. Quoting the 2022 casino reserve fund of 80,000 calculation indices: Law No. 78 of 2023 raised it to 100,000. Quoting the 8% or 4% online casino rates of 2022 and 2023: both were replaced in July 2024. Treating the land-based tax amounts as annual: the tax period is one calendar month. Assuming the Administrator's role in advertising means gambling can be advertised: the Advertising Law bans it.

Key facts

Regulator
Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Finnadzor) (Finnadzor)
Regulator type
Dedicated regulator
Headline tax
2% GGR
Licence required
Yes
Minimum age
21+
Tax base
Online and electronic casinos: the taxpayer's revenue less winnings paid to participants, with a quarterly tax period (Tax Code arts. 452(3) and 454(2)). Land-based: a fixed amount per unit per calendar month, from 2024 1,250,000 som per casino table, 100,000 som per slot machine or computer simulator and 500,000 som per bookmaker or totalizator betting cash desk (arts. 452 and 453). The Cabinet may lower the rates within these base rates (art. 453(3)).

Licensing

Licence required
Yes
Application window
Rolling
Local establishment required
Yes
Local server required
Not yet verified
Active licences
29 (as of 23 Sept 2026)
Bank guarantee or bond
Mandatory reserve fund in cash from the founders' own money, formed before applying, kept at the establishment's cash desk and declared to Finnadzor: 100,000 calculation indices (10 million som) for a casino in the capital, 50,000 (5 million som) in the regions; 20,000 (2 million som) for a bookmaker or totalizator in the capital, 10,000 (1 million som) in the regions (Law No. 50 art. 6). A separate reserve is needed for each activity (Regulation on state regulation, para. 14), and online applicants must also show one (Regulation on licensing, para. 13).
Notable licensees
Admiral Casino Kyrgyzstan, Asia Casino, Casino Crystal, Zolotoy Korol, Grand Casino
Certification requirements
Gaming equipment and specialised software may be used only after certification; foreign certificates must be confirmed by the national standardisation body (Law No. 50 art. 14(4)). Applicants must show a system for checking whether a client holds Kyrgyz citizenship and a contract with the state body that keeps the national passport register (Regulation on licensing, para. 13).
Barriers to entry
A resident LLC or closed joint-stock company, a cash reserve fund before applying, a hotel-casino footprint for any land-based product, and for online play a licence plus admission by an Administrator. Officers need higher education, five years of work experience and no unspent conviction (Regulation on licensing, para. 28). The defining limit is the customer base: no Kyrgyz citizen may play, and admitting one means mandatory revocation (para. 41). The 2024 sector risk assessment found that problems opening bank accounts had kept most online licensees from starting operations.

Licence types

  • Casino licence

    Scope
    A casino at a stated location, including its slot hall, bookmaker and totalizator zones; a separate licence for each establishment
    Term
    10 years
    Application fee
    KGS 84,000,000 as of 22 Aug 2024
    Fee basis
    One-off licence fee set by Resolution No. 459 in calculation indices of 100 som: 840,000 (84 million som) in the cities of republican significance, 420,000 (42 million som) in Osh, Chui and Jalal-Abad regions, 252,000 (25.2 million som) in Batken, Naryn, Issyk-Kul and Talas regions; plus a state duty of 10 calculation indices for a legal entity.
    Renewal terms
    Re-registration within five working days of any change of name, address, establishment name, location or equipment count, for 10 calculation indices (Law No. 50 art. 9).
  • Bookmaker or totalizator licence

    Scope
    A bookmaker or totalizator zone inside a casino, including interactive and internet bets paid through a Kyrgyz bank account
    Term
    10 years
    Application fee
    KGS 10,500,000 as of 22 Aug 2024
    Fee basis
    105,000 calculation indices (10.5 million som) anywhere in the country (Resolution No. 459).
    Renewal terms
    As for casinos (Law No. 50 art. 9).
  • Online casino administration licence (Administrator)

    Scope
    Running the online and electronic casino infrastructure, admitting and supervising Operators, handling player complaints and reporting to Finnadzor
    Term
    10 years
    Application fee
    KGS 1,260,000 as of 22 Aug 2024
    Fee basis
    12,600 calculation indices (1.26 million som) (Resolution No. 459).
  • Online casino operation licence (Operator)

    Scope
    Offering online and electronic casino games to foreign players aged 21 or over through an Administrator's infrastructure
    Term
    10 years
    Application fee
    KGS 8,400,000 as of 22 Aug 2024
    Fee basis
    84,000 calculation indices (8.4 million som) (Resolution No. 459), plus the fees an Administrator charges for infrastructure and access (Regulation on state regulation, para. 94).
    Renewal terms
    Access from the Administrator runs for one year and renews automatically if the Operator has no debts to the state or the Administrator and has paid for the next certification period (para. 95).

Taxation

Headline GGR tax
2% GGR
Effective date
1 Jan 2026
Player winnings tax
Winnings from gambling are exempt from personal income tax (Tax Code art. 191(3)(8)).
VAT treatment
The gambling tax replaces VAT on taxable supplies, profit tax and sales tax for gambling activity; other taxes and tax agent duties still apply, and gambling costs may not be deducted against other activities (Tax Code art. 450).
Tax base
Online and electronic casinos: the taxpayer's revenue less winnings paid to participants, with a quarterly tax period (Tax Code arts. 452(3) and 454(2)). Land-based: a fixed amount per unit per calendar month, from 2024 1,250,000 som per casino table, 100,000 som per slot machine or computer simulator and 500,000 som per bookmaker or totalizator betting cash desk (arts. 452 and 453). The Cabinet may lower the rates within these base rates (art. 453(3)).

Scheduled changes

  • 3% of GGR from 1 Jan 2027
    Enacted

    Online and electronic casino tax rate rises from 2% to 3% of revenue less winnings

Compliance

Minimum age
21+
National self-exclusion
Not yet verified
KYC timing
At entry for land-based venues; at registration for online play; again before a bookmaker payout
AML regime
The Law on countering the financing of terrorist activity and the legalisation (laundering) of criminal proceeds applies to gambling operators (preamble to Law No. 50); breach is a ground for refusing or revoking a licence (arts. 11 and 12). Operators must send AML information to Finnadzor (Regulation on reporting, para. 8).
AML supervisor
Finnadzor, with the State Financial Intelligence Service under the Ministry of Finance as financial intelligence unit
Central monitoring system
Player and winnings database with online access for Finnadzor (para. 9); interactive betting records reported through the Administrator (para. 87).
Data localisation
The Law and the Regulation cover gambling regardless of where the server is located (Law No. 50 art. 1; Regulation on state regulation, para. 26); no data localisation rule was found.
KYC requirements
Staff must demand an identity document at the entrance and players must produce one (Law No. 50 art. 15(6)). Operators register every player by personal identification data and record winnings in an electronic database with online access for Finnadzor (Regulation on state regulation, para. 9). Bookmakers pay out only after identification and after confirming that the player is not a Kyrgyz citizen (para. 64). Online players open their own account in the operator's system (para. 20).
Stake limits
Not yet verified
Mandatory player messaging
Game rules, visiting rules and rules for bets and payouts must be displayed in the venue and online. Online operators must publish the operating address, the licence details, the payout deadline, the complaints deadline and a notice that Kyrgyz citizens, foreigners under 21 and incapacitated foreigners may not play (Regulation on state regulation, paras. 8, 13, 34 and 84).
Reporting obligations
Monthly and quarterly reports to Finnadzor by the 25th of the following month and an annual report within 95 days of the year end with audited financial statements, per establishment and activity; changes of founders or officers and of equipment numbers within five working days (Regulation on reporting, paras. 9 to 12). Online Operators must file annual financial statements with an explanatory note within 60 days of the year end, and the Administrator may ask for further reports up to quarterly, and each Administrator reports Operators, websites, fees and betting-system data to Finnadzor every year (Regulation on state regulation, paras. 87, 91 and 92).
Game content restrictions
Only the activities listed in Law No. 50 art. 1 may be offered; prizes only in money; no credit or pledge play except credit play on slot machines; no public lotteries or promotions inside venues; totalizators pay out at least 50% of stakes and slot machines at least 75% (art. 13). Bookmakers take bets only on real sporting events run by accredited federations or international bodies (Regulation on state regulation, para. 59).

Advertising

Advertising permitted
No
Penalties for breach
Fine of 450 calculation indices (45,000 som) on a legal entity for breaching the rules on advertising the gambling business (Code on Offences art. 346(3)).

Restrictions

  • Advertising based on the risk of games and bets by their organisers, participants and intermediaries, including gambling venues such as bookmakers and totalizators ("advertising of the gambling business"), is prohibited (Advertising Law art. 16(5))
  • Firm names and material shown to the public must state the specific type of gambling establishment (Law No. 50 art. 2(2))
  • No one may invite or induce a minor or vulnerable person to gamble, including through advertising or promotion of a gaming service (Regulation on state regulation, para. 89)
  • No public lotteries or promotional campaigns inside gambling venues (Law No. 50 art. 13(12))

Payments

Credit card ban
Not yet verified
Crypto stance
Not addressed
Permitted methods
Bank card, Transfer to or from an account at a Kyrgyz commercial bank, Cash at the venue cash desk (land-based only)
Withdrawal timeframe rules
Winnings must be paid within the period in the game rules and no later than five calendar days after the result (Law No. 50 art. 13(14)); online operators must publish their deadline for paying winnings by electronic transfer (Regulation on state regulation, para. 34).
Currency restrictions
Online stakes, refunds and winnings are cashless only, by opening an account or taking bank card payments through POS terminals (Regulation on state regulation, paras. 18 and 20), in som or in foreign currency where the law allows (para. 18-1). Money is taken and paid only through the cash desk or a settlement account at a Kyrgyz commercial bank, and unidentified e-wallets and payment terminals are banned for funding accounts or collecting winnings (para. 20). The gambling rules do not mention crypto-assets.

Enforcement

ISP blocking
Not yet verified
DNS blocking
Not yet verified
Payment blocking
Not yet verified
App store takedowns
Not yet verified
Administrative penalties
Fine of 2,000 calculation indices (200,000 som) on a legal entity for breaching gambling law; 1,000 (100,000 som) on officers for false information, refusing information or obstructing supervisors; 450 (45,000 som) for advertising breaches; 300 (30,000 som) on a legal entity and 100 on an individual for providing premises for unlicensed gambling (Code on Offences art. 346). Finnadzor may also issue orders, suspend a licence for up to three months or revoke it (Law No. 50 arts. 10 and 11).
Criminal penalties
Organising gambling without a licence, including an electronic casino: three to five years' imprisonment, five to eight years if aggravated, with confiscation of equipment, stakes and winnings (Criminal Code art. 219-1).
Operator liability
A licence must be revoked if the operator admits a Kyrgyz citizen, a foreigner under 21 or an incapacitated foreigner (Regulation on licensing, para. 41), and may be revoked for breaches of the Law, unpaid taxes, failure to report equipment changes or three months without activity (Law No. 50 art. 11).
Player liability
Law No. 50 art. 15(7) says Kyrgyz citizens who take part in gambling bear liability under Kyrgyz law, but neither the Code on Offences nor the Criminal Code, in the editions read on 23 September 2026, contains an offence aimed at players; article 346 of the Code targets organisers and article 219-1 of the Criminal Code targets unlicensed organisers.

Notable actions

  • Sports Entertainment LLC (1xbet)9 Aug 2023

    Bookmaker licence No. 0001, issued on 17 November 2022, revoked by Finnadzor order No. 375.

  • 1xbet.kg26 Aug 2024

    Finnadzor warned that 1xbet.kg was being actively advertised online as a bookmaker and online casino although its only licence had been revoked in 2023, and said it was preparing referrals to the competent state bodies.

Market data

Figures on this record are drawn from official regulator data.

Online GGR
Not yet verified
Reporting year
2026
Licensed operators
19

Timeline

  1. 1 Nov 2011

    Law No. 191 on the prohibition of gambling activity adopted.

  2. 20 Jul 2022

    Law No. 50 on gambling activity takes effect 15 days after its publication on 5 July 2022, repealing the prohibition and licensing gambling for foreign clients.

  3. 1 Aug 2022

    Cabinet Resolution No. 440 names Finnadzor as regulator for land-based gambling and the communications regulator for online casinos, and approves the licensing, regulation and reporting rules.

  4. 12 Aug 2022

    Resolution No. 459 sets the licence fees.

  5. 17 Nov 2022

    Finnadzor issues bookmaker licence No. 0001 to Sports Entertainment LLC (1xbet).

  6. 3 Apr 2023

    Law No. 78 raises the casino reserve fund, tightens premises rules and switches the online casino tax from 8% of revenue less winnings to 4% of total revenue.

  7. 9 Aug 2023

    Finnadzor revokes the 1xbet bookmaker licence.

  8. 30 Jan 2024

    Resolution No. 36 makes Finnadzor the regulator for online casinos as well.

  9. 13 Jun 2024

    The Cabinet AML/CFT Commission approves the online casino risk assessment, which found four Administrator and four Operator licences issued but the sector not yet operating.

  10. 23 Jul 2024

    Law No. 136 taxes online casinos on revenue less winnings again, at 1%, rising to 2% in 2026 and 3% from 2027.

  11. 22 Aug 2024

    Resolution No. 491 drops the separate slot hall licence and confines bookmakers to casinos.

  12. 4 Nov 2024

    Law No. 175 lifts the ban on gambling venues in state-owned property.

  13. 6 Aug 2026

    Law No. 145 resets gambling tax filing and payment deadlines.

  14. 22 Sept 2026

    A Jogorku Kenesh committee removes the gambling and lottery bill from its agenda (reported date).

Outlook

The online casino tax rises from 2% to 3% of revenue less winnings on 1 January 2027 under the Tax Code as already enacted. The bill on gambling and lottery activity, which would regulate online lotteries and ban binary options, was taken off the agenda of the Jogorku Kenesh judicial affairs committee in September 2026 after deputies raised objections, including that it set no penalties for causing especially large damage; watch for a revised text. The rules have been adjusted almost every year since 2022 (reserve funds, premises, the regulator, the online tax base, filing dates), so further tuning is likely. The open question for the online model is scale: the 2024 risk assessment found the sector not yet operating, and online casinos paid 2.0 million som of tax in the first half of 2026 against 317.8 million som from casinos.

Frequently asked questions

Can Kyrgyz citizens gamble legally in Kyrgyzstan?
No. Only foreign citizens aged 21 or over may be clients of casinos, bookmakers, totalizators and online casinos (Law No. 50 art. 15), and an operator that admits a Kyrgyz citizen must lose its licence.
Who regulates gambling in Kyrgyzstan?
The Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Finnadzor). It has licensed land-based gambling since 2022 and online casinos since January 2024, and keeps the public licence registers.
How much does an online casino licence cost in Kyrgyzstan?
An Operator licence costs 84,000 calculation indices (8.4 million som) and an Administrator licence 12,600 (1.26 million som), each for ten years. An Operator also needs access from a licensed Administrator, granted for one year and renewed automatically.
How are online casinos taxed in Kyrgyzstan?
On revenue less winnings paid, at 2% in 2026 and 3% from 2027, in place of profit tax, VAT and sales tax. The tax period is a quarter, and the return and payment are due by the 20th of the following month.
Is gambling advertising allowed in Kyrgyzstan?
No. Article 16(5) of the Advertising Law bans advertising of the gambling business, and a breach costs a legal entity 450 calculation indices (45,000 som).
How many gambling licences are active in Kyrgyzstan?
On 23 September 2026 Finnadzor listed 29 active licences held by 19 companies: 5 casinos, 2 bookmakers, 12 online casino Administrators and 10 online casino Operators. No totalizator was licensed.

Sources

  1. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 5 Jul 2022
  2. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 4 Apr 2023
  3. Law No. 55 of 26 February 2024 amending the Law on gambling activity

    Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic, Centralised Legal Database (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 1 Mar 2024
  4. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 1 Aug 2022
  5. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 1 Aug 2022
  6. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 2 Feb 2024
  7. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 22 Aug 2024
  8. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 3 Sept 2025
  9. Regulation on reporting and disclosure by gambling operators, appendix 3 to Resolution No. 440 (edition of 22 August 2024)

    Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic, Centralised Legal Database (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 22 Aug 2024
  10. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 23 Aug 2022
  11. Jogorku Kenesh Resolution No. 1115-III of 15 June 2006 approving the calculation index at 100 som

    Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic, Centralised Legal Database (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 15 Jun 2006
  12. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 6 Aug 2026
  13. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 30 Jun 2022
  14. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 2 Feb 2024
  15. Code of the Kyrgyz Republic on Offences No. 128 of 28 October 2021, article 346 (edition of 6 August 2026)

    Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic, Centralised Legal Database (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 16 Nov 2021
  16. Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 16 Nov 2021
  17. Law No. 155 of 24 December 1998 on advertising, article 16(5) (edition of 31 October 2025)

    Ministry of Justice of the Kyrgyz Republic, Centralised Legal Database (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 24 Dec 1998
  18. Finnadzor registers: casino, bookmaker, totalizator, virtual casino administration and virtual casino operator licences

    Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Finnadzor) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  19. Illegal activity of 1XBET.KG (Finnadzor notice)

    Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Finnadzor) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 26 Aug 2024
  20. Information on the state duty and the fee for licensing gambling activity (Finnadzor notice)

    Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce (Finnadzor) (translated)

    Tier 1Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 28 Mar 2025
  21. Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 13 Jun 2024
  22. Tier 2Accessed 23 Sept 2026
  23. Jogorku Kenesh committee considered the bill amending legislation on gambling and lotteries

    K-News (translated)

    No primary text of the bill could be retrieved from the Jogorku Kenesh bill register in this run; the stage and content rest on this report only.

    Tier 3Accessed 23 Sept 2026Published 22 Sept 2026

Spotted something out of date? Report a correction.

This page is industry reference information and not legal advice.

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