The Jogorku Kenesh committee on finance and budget approved in second reading on October 27 a bill that bans binary options in Kyrgyzstan and introduces criminal liability for illegal lotteries. The Jogorku Kenesh committee on finance, budget, entrepreneurship and competition development also approved in second reading on October 27 a bill amending several legislative acts in the sphere of gambling and lottery activity. For now, it is a draft, not a law in force.
The document amends three acts. Changes are made to the Criminal Code and to the laws "On Gambling Activity in the Kyrgyz Republic" and "On Lotteries."
The key part concerns binary options. The bill bans organizing and running gambling in the form of binary options. The ban also covers their advertising and promotion, accepting money and virtual assets from citizens and residents of Kyrgyzstan, and brokering the involvement of people in such operations.
For media buyers and affiliate programs, this matters more than the platform ban itself: the restriction covers promotion and recruitment of participants, not just the work of the platform. The Ministry of Economy had previously set out the same approach, proposing to define binary options by law as a type of gambling.
The lottery part adds a criminal offense. The bill introduces criminal liability for organizing and running lotteries without a permit, including over the internet. The rule targets unlicensed operations, so work with licensed draws does not fall under it as the text is written. The document also introduces regulation of online lotteries and digital draws.
The regulator's press service links the bill to citizen protection. Kairat Mamatov, chairman of the Service for Regulation and Supervision of the Financial Market under the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, said the bill is aimed at legal regulation of online lotteries, digital games and binary options, strengthening state oversight in this area, reducing fraud risks, and protecting citizens' rights.
24-09-26 The Jogorku Kenesh committee removed a bill on changes in gambling and lottery activity from the agenda, and on October 7 the Jogorku Kenesh considered and adopted the bill in first reading.
The final decision will be made by the Jogorku Kenesh at a plenary session.
