On June 11, at the “Bunyodkor” stadium in Tashkent, the national football team of Uzbekistan played a match against the guest of the tournament, Oman, within the framework of the Central Asian Cup.

During the match, which was broadcast live on the “Sport” TV channel, an advertisement of a betting company was presented on the stadium display. This is contrary to the current legislation of Uzbekistan. In this respect, this situation is causing public protests.

According to the Twitter page of the Central Asian Football Association, which is the organizer of the tournament, the betting company has been designated as the main sponsor of the CAFA Nations Cup 2023 tournament.

Under the terms of the agreement, the totalizator logo will be displayed on the tournament’s official digital platforms, including the tournament 2023 website and social media. In addition, the symbols of the bookmaker will be present in the stadiums, including the interview areas and benches, as well as LED panels and 3D carpets.

What is the liability in the legislation?

According to the current legislation, organizing and advertising gambling and risk-based games in Uzbekistan causes administrative and criminal liability.

In particular, according to the decision No. 176 of the Cabinet of Ministers dated August 16, 2007, since September 1, 2007, it is prohibited to organize and conduct gambling and other games based on risk (including totalizers) in the territory of Uzbekistan.

According to Article 191 of the Administrative Responsibility Code, organizing, providing services for gambling and other games based on risk in the territory of Uzbekistan, or distributing them – shall result in a fine of 5 to 15 BCAs.

According to the second part of Article 178-1 of this Code, citizens and officials shall be fined from 5 to 7 BCAs for advertising a product prohibited by law.

In addition, according to Article 46 of the Law “On Advertising”, advertising of gambling and risk-based games, as well as gambling and other risk-based games organized using telecommunication networks and the Internet, is prohibited on the territory of Uzbekistan.

According to Article 47 of this law, advertising about a product whose advertising is prohibited by law will result in a fine of 100 BCAs.

According to an expert of the Competition Committee who spoke to Kun.uz, studies are being conducted on advertising of the bookmaker company during the match of the Uzbekistan national team, and additional information will be provided.

In general, there are currently no legal grounds for bookmaking or advertising in Uzbekistan, which means that this activity is illegal. But this situation is repeated for the second time in the matches of the Uzbekistan national team.

Economic and social consequences of online gambling

Recently, there have been frequent reports among Uzbeks about people who committed suicide, sold their houses and property, and committed other crimes after betting on sports games.

As mentioned above, not only engaging in bookmaking activities, but also advertising it is against the law. Nevertheless, many betting companies are actively advertising on social networks. This has led to the further popularization of online gambling. For some reason, the Competition Committee does not go beyond observing from the sidelines such promotion activities that are carried out in an open and transparent manner. It is not an impossible and difficult task to limit the advertisements on Telegram channels of well-known Uzbek athletes, bloggers and vloggers with a large audience on social networks and take legal action.

For example, last year, a group of Instagram bloggers was prosecuted by the Tashkent city DIA for advertising a betting company. After that, the promotion of the totalizer did not stop. Several channels on YouTube continue to promote online gambling.

Gambling addiction is a progressive “dependance” that can have many negative psychological, physical and social consequences. This has several negative consequences:

Waste of time. As a result of spending days, weeks, months and even years in order to first earn additional income, and then to compensate for the money lost, a person loses the time he should invest for his personal development.

Effects on health. Risk-based games create feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. People living with this “dependence” have been shown to suffer from depression, migraines, bowel disorders, and other stress-related problems. Losing a large amount of money causes a person to lose his well-being. Gamblers are always thinking about winning, whether they are lying down or standing up. Due to its harmful consequences, gambling addiction is one of the most important health problems in many countries.

Financial problems. A person unjustifiably loses funds that should be allocated to himself, relatives and good deeds. Due to financial difficulties, delinquency and crime increase among people. In particular, dozens of people committed suicide after losing a large amount of money to the totalizer in Uzbekistan itself.

People who are looking for easy money should understand that it is not possible to make money from this thing, and those who win are actually losers. But the number of people who leave the online gambling den is increasing day by day in Uzbekistan. This is also directly affected by open propaganda and the lack of action against them.