Kyrgyzstan Removes One Document From Gambling Licence Applications

The Cabinet of Ministers approved Resolution No. 698 on October 15. It was published the following day, with the legal database PRG listing October 26 as its effective date. The measure is part of a wider government effort to reduce the number of documents businesses must submit when applying for permits.

One Requirement Removed in Three Categories

The gambling licensing rules date back to August 2022. Section 13 separates applications into three groups:

• Land-based casinos.
• Gaming-machine halls, totalisators and betting offices.
• Online casinos and electronic or virtual casinos.

Resolution No. 698 removes the third paragraph from each group’s document list.

A comparison with the licensing rules shows what this means. All three paragraphs concerned the same document: a copy of the legal entity’s state registration certificate.

The next paragraph stays, though. Applicants still have to provide certified copies of their corporate charter, founding agreement or sole founder’s decision, along with the relevant meeting minutes.

Casino Premises and Betting Equipment

For a land-based casino, the deleted certificate was only one part of the application. Operators must document their right to use the premises, security arrangements, video surveillance and the required reserve fund.

Betting offices and gaming-machine halls have their own paperwork. Equipment certificates and proof of no outstanding tax debts are among the documents required.

Online casinos need to show ownership or rental rights to the software they use. Checks against Kyrgyz citizenship records also stay in the rules for all three groups.

The licence term is still ten years.

24 Online Casino Operators Reported in September

Kyrgyzstan had licensed online operators well before the latest paperwork change. In September, Financial Market Regulation and Supervision Service chairman Kairat Mamatov reported 24 licensed online casino operators. A 15M examination of the public register found 22 licence records across two online categories.