Аңдатпа
This study assesses the economic efficiency of the gambling industry in Kazakhstan by comparing its market and fiscal dynamics with its socio-economic costs. The objective of the study is to determine whether the fiscal contribution of the gambling business under the special gambling tax corresponds to the scale of the industry's economic expansion and to the socio-economic costs generated by problem gambling. To achieve this objective, the study uses official statistical data of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2019–2024 on the volume of gambling and betting services, the value added of the “Arts, entertainment and recreation” sector, and receipts from the gambling business tax, complemented by survey-based indicators of problem gambling severity across the country's regions. A proxy method is applied to estimate the value added generated by the gambling industry, since this activity is not reported as a separate line in national accounts, and an index-based comparison of proxy value added and gambling tax receipts is used to assess fiscal sensitivity to industry growth. The results show a significant expansion of the gambling business after 2020, while gambling business tax revenues did not increase proportionally, indicating a growing fiscal decoupling between industry growth and budget contributions. The analysis further shows that rising problem gambling severity is associated with higher household debt burden, deteriorating psychological well-being, and reduced labor productivity, and that estimated productivity losses substantially exceed annual gambling tax revenues. The scientific contribution of the study lies in proposing a proxy value-added methodology and an index-based fiscal-sensitivity approach for a sector not separately identified in national statistics, and in linking fiscal analysis to the socio-economic costs of problem gambling within a single analytical framework. The findings substantiate the need to strengthen state regulation of the gambling industry and to develop digital monitoring mechanisms for online gambling, aligning the fiscal system with the industry's actual social effectiveness.