In 2020, Kazakhstan attempted to impose a 'tax' on betting through a private intermediary, the CUS. After a scandal involving an expensive handbag, the project was scrapped. But in 2024, it all returned under the name Unified Accounting System.
On paper — a fight against gambling addiction; in reality — the same billions in commissions and control over bookmakers. The leader of the 'Amanat' faction, Yelnur Beisenbayev, publicly called the CUS an 'parasitic intermediary', yet a few months later, he voted for the same thing under a different name.
THE SAME OLD SONG
The story began in 2020 with the Betting Accounting Centre (CUS) project — a private company that was supposed to take 4% of the turnover of bookmakers. This involved tens of billions of tenge per year for the 'technical' services of an intermediary.
The scheme spectacularly collapsed: the head of the CUS gave the Deputy Minister of Sports a women's handbag worth several million tenge. Both were punished, and the project was quietly shelved.
A year later, the idea was revived under the brand of the Unified Accounting System (UAS) with more modest appetites — 1% instead of the previous 4%. Even so, this amounts to 13-15 billion tenge annually. The operator is claimed to be a state-owned company.
A DEPUTY'S METAMORPHOSIS
In the spring and summer of 2024, deputy Yelnur Beisenbayev spoke out strongly against the return of the scheme. He called the CUS a 'relapse of the past' and 'parasitic superstructure', spoke of protecting national interests, and called for transparency in lawmaking.
By autumn, everything had changed. The same Beisenbayev supported the bill on the UAS. No explanations, no arguments. Just a vote 'for'. A quick and quiet U-turn.
THE RUSSIAN CONNECTION
In January 2025, Minister Yerbol Myrzabosynov signed an order outlining the rules for the UAS. According to available information, Russian consultants, who helped create the Russian system TSUPIS (Centre for Accounting and Transfer of Interactive Bets), are involved in developing the Kazakh system.
This means that betting payments will be processed through the Russian TSUPIS, wrapped in a Kazakh guise. Technically, TSUPIS is capable of blocking one bookmaker while allowing another to operate unhindered.
CONTROL UNDER THE GUISE OF CARE
Officially, the UAS is positioned as fighting gambling addiction and developing sport. Behind this attractive facade lies the possibility of a targeted market purge and client redistribution.
Authorised bodies already exist in Kazakhstan to oversee bookmakers. Why duplicate functions? To gain new levers of influence — to control money, flows, and decide who survives in the market.
The UAS will become a tool of pressure, with the ability to redirect traffic from one player to another. Who will decide which bookmakers get the green light?
BANKS AS BACK-UP PLAYERS
Representatives of a newly established LLP approached Kazakh banks with a proposal to act as 'back-up' operators. This is how the financial sector learned about the plans to implement a system developed with the involvement of Russian consultants.
SILENCE INSTEAD OF ANSWERS
Business is once again under threat. The difference is that now the scheme is being promoted more quietly — with good intentions and patriotic slogans.
Deputies who once protected the country from the schemes of Old Kazakhstan have now legitimised them. Without explanation, without shame. The UAS is not just about betting; it's about control, the market, and power. The main difference from 2020 is that the scheme now has a deputy's blessing.