"Risk of Losing Control": Why the Ministry of Sports Abandoned Kazakhstan's Betting Monitoring System.
The ministry has firmly stated that it will not implement a domestic system for monitoring bets. Instead, the Ministry of Sports intends to wait for the establishment of a Unified Accounting System (UAS), which will be fully state-owned. The agency assured that the UAS will have the functionality necessary for bookmakers to fully comply with the law.
“It is impossible to transfer a private information system to the balance of the authorized body in the field of gambling. This is due to both the vulnerability of information security and the improper use of budget funds for its forced maintenance in the future,” stated the ministry's response signed by Adilet Turganbaev, deputy chairman of the tourism industry committee.
The ministry noted that according to the norms of the Administrative Procedural Code, government agencies are not permitted to perform functions that are not outlined in the legislation. Therefore, the Ministry of Sports cannot take on the accounting system that it does not own.
The ministry outlined four reasons for rejecting the bookmakers' proposal:
- the upcoming creation of the UAS, which will have the necessary functionality;
- the domestic system was developed by an “interested party”;
- there is a “risk of losing control” and concerns regarding information security;
- budget funds will need to be allocated for the maintenance of the system.
Bookmakers, who complain about the lack of technical means to monitor betting participants, are advised to address this issue on their own.
“Before the implementation of the UAS functions, bookmakers or totalizators must independently ensure the restriction of access to betting for individuals listed in the self-restriction list and the ERD. Issues regarding the proper operation and technical capabilities of automating the APC and the mentioned information systems must be resolved between bookmakers and the owners of the information systems. The information that gambling business entities lack fully functioning tools is not accurate,” the Ministry of Sports stated.
The tourism industry committee is currently exploring various existing and proposed solutions, including domestic ones, the ministry assured.
At the end of December, the Association of Bookmakers of Kazakhstan complained to the Anti-Corruption Agency that the Ministry of Sports refuses to implement a domestic betting accounting system, which deprives market participants of the ability to fully comply with the “law against gambling addiction.” We detailed the entrepreneurs' grievances in this material.