More than a thousand landowners in Burabay could lose their property without compensation. Formally, this is due to violations in the allocation of land 20 years ago. But almost simultaneously with the start of the seizures, the Akimat of the Akmola Region designated zones for casinos and betting shops in the same territories. The editorial board of FBRK decided to investigate the possible link between these events.
Since September of this year, hundreds of land users in Burabay have been receiving lawsuits from the Department for Land Resource Management demanding that the purchase and sale agreements be declared invalid. The plots in question were acquired more than two decades ago and have houses, sanatoriums, and small businesses built on them. People have invested funds, paid taxes, and developed infrastructure for years. Now they risk being left with nothing – compensation for the seizure is not provided.
In the early 2000s, when the Burabay State National Nature Park was being created, the land management work only defined the external boundaries of the specially protected natural area (SPNA). The internal boundaries of the so-called "external land users" – settlements, sanatoriums, private plots – were not properly marked. Now, a prosecutor's inspection has suddenly revealed that the boundaries of all these plots lie within the territory of the national park. This means the akimats had no right to allocate them – the SPNA lands are not under their jurisdiction.
Lawyer Pavel Goloborodko, representing the interests of one of the affected limited liability partnerships, stated that the department and the prosecutor's office are not challenging in court the actual decision of the akimat to allocate the land – that is, they are not declaring it illegal. They are only attacking the subsequent transactions. Moreover, the lawyers insist: disputes of this kind should be heard in a specialised inter-district administrative court, not in the civil and economic courts where the lawsuits are being filed. They also refer to Article 148 of the Land Code, which lists the cases in which officials can file lawsuits regarding land. In the defenders' opinion, declaring a transaction invalid is not included in this list.
Significantly, in 2020, the livestock market in Karabulak found itself in a similar situation – the courts declared the akimat's decision to change the designated purpose of the land illegal, but this did not stop the business from continuing its work. In Burabay, however, with a similar violation, people are being deprived of their property without compensation.
As of today, according to unconfirmed data, 1,200-1,300 plots are subject to seizure. Among them are recreation areas, private homes, and small and medium-sized business facilities. The courts started with large enterprises, then moved on to small businesses and individuals. The situation has already taken on signs of social tension – residents wanted to hold a protest rally, but the akimat of the Burabay district refused permission for a peaceful assembly.
And here an interesting detail emerges that casts a new light on events. A resolution from the Akimat of the Akmola Region, dated 23 September 2025, has come into our anonymous bot. The document defines the boundaries of territories for locating casinos, gaming machine halls, betting shops, and totalisators in the Burabay district. Moreover, these zones cover exactly those places where the land seizures are currently taking place: the town of Shchuchinsk with its "Svetly" and "Shchuchinsky" sanatoriums, the north-western part of Lake Bolshoye Chebachye, the vicinity of Lake Tekekol, the Burabay settlement, the villages of Sarybulak and Okzhetpes.
A curious coincidence, don't you think? For twenty years, no one was bothered by the inaccuracies in land management; people lived and worked peacefully. But as soon as the decision was made to create gambling zones at the resort, the mechanism of mass seizure of private property was immediately set in motion. Formally, everything is legal – if the akimat had no right to allocate land within the national park, then the transactions are void. In practice, it looks more like a clearing of sites for casinos and betting shops.
The akimat's resolution revokes a previous similar document from March 2025, which indicates the seriousness of their intentions and a revision of plans. The gambling business, as is well known, brings significant revenue to the budget. We understand that. But why specifically Burabay, one of the country's main natural resorts? Surely a less contentious territory could have been found? Like Arkalyk, Stepnyak, or any other populated area where you wouldn't have to evict thousands of people and destroy a way of life established over many years. People would still travel – gambling knows no distances.
But no, the choice fell on Burabay with its unique nature, tourist infrastructure, and, importantly, with ready-made land plots that can be legally cleared for new projects. After all, if a plot is deemed illegally allocated and seized without compensation, the state obtains free territory. And then these lands can be transferred for the gambling business – all within the law, all very neat.
One gets the impression that the notorious prosecutor's inspection and the subsequent lawsuits are merely a tool to achieve a specific goal. A goal that is not publicised, but is perfectly visible when you overlay the map of seizures onto the map of planned gambling zones.
The legal arguments of the defence seem convincing, but for now, the courts are ruling in favour of the department. The first instances have been lost. Appeals are being prepared, but this doesn't inspire optimism – if a serious economic interest lies behind the process, the chances for the citizens are slim. Especially in a situation where the very possibility of peaceful protest is nipped in the bud by refusing permission to hold an assembly.
So it turns out that the state, which is supposed to protect the rights of owners, is itself annulling those rights. Not for offences, not for violating the terms of land use, but for an error made by the state itself twenty years ago. An error whose consequences were tolerated for two decades, until a need for these lands for other purposes arose.
Yes, the akimats may have exceeded their authority when allocating the lands. But the state recognised these transactions, accepted taxes, allowed people to invest and build. And property rights are one of the foundations of a market economy. If land can be seized from an entrepreneur in Burabay today, tomorrow it could be from any other owner anywhere in the country. It's enough to find a formal flaw from many years ago. This practice sends a clear signal to investors: your property is protected only until it is needed for other purposes.
It will be interesting to see what the officials say when the cards are finally on the table and casinos with their neon signs and the clatter of slot machines spring up on the seized plots. Will they claim it's just a coincidence? That the resolution on gambling zones and the seizure of 1,300 plots are parallel processes, completely unrelated?
We probably won't hear the truth, though. But we will see it when the first casino opens its doors on the shore of one of the Burabay lakes. Then it will become absolutely clear that this was not a fight for compliance with land legislation and the protection of specially protected natural areas.
One can only hope that the appeal courts will still delve into the essence of what is happening and see, behind the formal legal constructs, real people with their real losses. And that someday in Kazakhstan, property rights will become truly inviolable – not just on paper, but in practice. But for now, the plot owners in Burabay can only place bets. Not in a casino, of course, but on whether justice will ultimately prevail. Although in this game, the odds are unfortunately clearly stacked against them.