The Uzbekistan Cabinet has issued a document that sets the conditions for engaging in online gambling business from January 1, 2025.

The document specifies the requirements for gambling company operators, operating capital, license acquisition methods, and fees.

According to spot.uz, the Uzbekistan Cabinet has officially approved regulations for online gambling games, betting, and lottery operators, and has published the relevant documents on the Lex.uz website.

The document clarifies that from January 1, 2025, the gambling industry will operate according to specific requirements and rules.

In April this year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a decree on the legalization of gambling and betting activities, laying the foundation for the regulation of this industry.

Who Can Organize Online Gambling

The document stipulates that in Uzbekistan, only legal entities—residents of the country—have the right to engage in gambling games, betting, and lottery activities, and the related servers must also be located within Uzbekistan.

The registered capital for companies organizing gambling games and betting must not be less than 150,000 times the basic calculation value (56.25 billion UZS, approximately 31.77 million RMB). The registered capital for companies organizing lotteries must not be less than 55,000 times the basic calculation value (20.625 billion UZS, approximately 11.65 million RMB).

In addition, a special reserve fund account must be established in a bank, with the reserve fund for gambling games and betting not being less than 75,000 times the basic calculation value (28.125 billion UZS, approximately 15.87 million RMB). For lotteries, the reserve fund must not be less than 40,000 times the basic calculation value (15 billion UZS, approximately 8.47 million RMB).

Additionally, companies must provide necessary information about the licensee's operations to the National Agency for Project Management (NAPP) free of charge.

The management of gambling, betting, and lottery companies must not include individuals:

Convicted of economic crimes, money laundering, involvement in organized crime, illegal drug trafficking, corruption, or IT-related crimes, whose sentences have not been revoked or expired;

Whose gambling institution's license was revoked due to regulatory violations in their operational activities within the past three years;

Who were part of a management or leadership team of a company declared bankrupt within the past two years.

Company founders cannot be citizens from countries not participating in international anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing cooperation. Additionally, individuals from the aforementioned categories cannot serve as the company's chief accountant.

The number of layers between the founder and the ultimate beneficiary must not exceed three. All changes in the management team and the transfer of registered capital shares to others must be approved by the National Agency for Project Management (NAPP).

How to Obtain a Business License

The National Agency for Project Management (NAPP) is responsible for issuing licenses to gambling, betting, and lottery companies and supervising their operations. Each type of activity requires a separate license application.

The license is valid for 5 years. The fee for applying for a new license is 500 times the basic calculation value (18.75 million UZS, approximately 10.6 thousand RMB); the fee for changing a license is 250 times the basic calculation value (9.375 million UZS, approximately 5300 RMB).

When applying for a license, an insurance policy or bank guarantee letter must be attached to confirm that a reserve fund has been established. Additionally, software used for gambling games and lotteries (especially random number generators) must have a certification certificate issued by a testing laboratory.

Before the beginning of 2025, the task of the National Agency for Project Management (NAPP) is to formulate licensing regulations for gambling game, betting, and lottery operators, as well as their organization and operational rules.

According to Spot, since the beginning of this year, Uzbekistan has shut down about 30 websites containing gambling advertisements.