The Department of the Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) in Almaty has completed an investigation into a group of individuals who organised the illegal online casinos "PokStars" and "LuckyShark".
According to the agency's press office, those involved in the scheme accepted bets via bank transfers, after which players were given a login, password and a link to access the gaming platforms.
Financial transactions were conducted through bank cards issued in the names of relatives and third parties, including foreign nationals — so-called droppers.
Targeted advertising on social media was used to attract new customers, aimed at increasing traffic to the underground gambling club.
Ultimately, the court found three defendants guilty of organising an illegal gambling business and sentenced them to between two and a half and four and a half years in prison. Criminal assets amounting to 116 million tenge and a Zeekr car were confiscated to the state. The verdict has entered into legal force.
The FMA noted that over the past two years, 105 pre-trial investigations have been launched into illegal gambling operations, with 22 underground casinos, 65 gaming halls and 441 terminals shut down. The Cyber Surveillance system has blocked more than 33,000 links to online casinos, and 166 people have been held criminally liable for illegal gambling businesses.