In six months, casinos in the Almaty region contributed 25 billion tenge in taxes to the budget. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Of this, 10.6 billion tenge was transferred to the regional budget. Overall, over the past two and a half years, the gambling business has brought 184.7 billion tenge in taxes to the budget, of which 53.8 billion tenge was directed to the regional budget.
Currently, 21 gambling facilities operate legally in Konayev, including five casinos, 13 bookmaker offices, and three slot machine halls. About 20% of casino visitors are foreigners, which positively affects tourism.
"Every tourist coming to Konayev stays in hotels, visits catering establishments, uses transport, trade, and other services. This, in turn, contributes to the development of small and medium-sized businesses, the creation of new jobs, and the revitalization of the local economy," said the head of the regional tourism department, Kuanyshbek Mirambekuly.
In addition to Konayev, according to the law "On Gambling Business," another special zone is planned to be created in the Talgar district. This issue was considered by the regional public council and supported the proposal.
The district is closer to Almaty than Konayev, near the international airport, and also has a developed infrastructure for mountain, health, and recreational tourism. The new gambling zone should operate only for foreigners.
"Therefore, the new gambling zone is considered as part of the region's tourism ecosystem. This will expand the range of tourism services and create additional opportunities for the development of service infrastructure," emphasized Kuanyshbek Mirambekuly.
The project should give impetus to the development of the hotel business, catering, transport, and trade.
Earlier it was reported that more than 463 thousand Kazakhstanis have set self-restrictions from participating in gambling via Egov.