Two residents of Shymkent have been sentenced to four years' imprisonment for organising an illegal gambling business through the online platforms Bingo-37 and Lotoboom. The combined turnover of the two online casinos amounted to 3.1 billion tenge
HOW THE ONLINE CASINOS OPERATED
The Shymkent City Department of the Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) has completed its investigation into the organisation of an illegal gambling business through the Bingo-37 and Lotoboom platforms.
Potential players were sent messages on WhatsApp inviting them to take part in gambling. Once users responded, accounts were created for them, logins and passwords were passed on, along with bank account details for transferring money.
HOW MONEY WAS ACCEPTED AND WINNINGS PAID OUT
To receive funds from players and subsequently pay out winnings, the organisers used bank accounts opened in the names of 14 droppers.
The combined turnover of the two platforms reached 3.1 billion tenge.
WHAT PROPERTY WAS CONFISCATED
Using the proceeds of crime, the organisers acquired property with a total value of more than 200 million tenge. The list included BYD Destroyer, LiXiang L6 Max, Chevrolet Monza and SsangYong Rexton vehicles, as well as two plots of land.
The court ordered the confiscation of the said property in favour of the state.
WHAT PUNISHMENT THE COURT IMPOSED
Two defendants in the case were sentenced to four years' imprisonment.
The verdict has not yet entered into legal force
CONTEXT
Earlier, in the Karaganda Region, a group that provided the receipt and withdrawal of funds for players of the online casino Vavada was shut down. More than 415 million tenge was channelled through 23 drop accounts.
In September, in Almaty, an investigation was completed into the payment infrastructure of three online casinos, through which players' money was received and processed. According to the investigation, the scheme used the bank accounts of 16 droppers, which received more than 110 million tenge.
In July, the AFM shut down the online casino "Nomad Poker", which operated in Kazakhstan. According to the investigation, the gaming platform operated through a network of foreign droppers, and the amount received from players exceeded 7.5 billion tenge.
