A criminal case, after which 326 lottery clubs were closed across Kazakhstan in January 2024, was terminated due to the absence of the elements of a criminal offence. At the same time, the operator "Satti Zhuldyz" continued operations: some of its former projects resumed, and electronic lotteries were later moved to the company's own online platforms.
WHAT IS KNOWN
In January 2024, a joint operation by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and the National Security Committee (NSC) involved 570 searches. Law enforcement reported the closure of 326 clubs, the detention of eight suspected organisers and the seizure of 247 million tenge, 55 million roubles and $125,000. These figures relate to the initial version of the investigation.
Later, the agency's position changed. In September 2024, the MIA reported that the organisation of illegal gambling business had not been confirmed, and the criminal case was terminated in agreement with the prosecution authorities due to the absence of the elements of a criminal offence.
HOW "SATTI ZHULDYZ", LOTOCLUB AND LOTOMATIC ARE CONNECTED
According to Polites News, JSC "Satti Zhuldyz" was designated as the lottery operator by government resolution No. 48 of 10 February 2017 for a term of 15 years. In the company's reporting for 2024, LotoClub LLP and Lotomatic LLP are listed among the operator's agents.
On 30 January 2024, "Satti Zhuldyz" temporarily suspended the distribution of the electronic instant lottery through Lotomatic terminals across the country. This was directly confirmed by the Ministry of Tourism and Sport.
After the case was terminated, the projects resumed operations in July 2024, and the operator moved electronic tickets to its own website and mobile application in accordance with Article 12-1 of the Law "On Lotteries and Lottery Activity".
WHO OWNS THE OPERATOR
At the end of 2025, 70% of "Satti Zhuldyz" shares belonged to Sergey Shvalov, and 30% to TLC System Ltd. The agreement on the sale of 30% of the shares was concluded as far back as 21 July 2022, so there are no grounds to link the appearance of TLC System to the 2024 criminal investigation.
TLC System was registered with the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) on 27 May 2022. In the media it is linked to NLT Technologies and entrepreneur Nikolay Neplyuyev, but this information is not based on a single official register.
BIN 181140002760, previously associated with LOTO Club LLP, now belongs to Celera LLP. On 3 December 2024, Celera published a liquidation notice. The media also named Roman Dobrodayev and Yerzhan Yessekeyev among the founders of Loto Club, but this information does not confirm the current ownership structure.
HOW MUCH THE OPERATOR EARNED
According to financial reporting data, in 2025 "Satti Zhuldyz" revenue amounted to 232.95 billion tenge, and net profit was about 2.5 billion tenge.
Between 2023 and 2025, 11 billion tenge was received from "Satti Zhuldyz" by the "Qazaqstan halqyna" fund, of which 4.3 billion was in 2025. As of 1 January 2026, the balance stood at 5.4 billion tenge.
In 2025, the fund allocated 2.1 billion tenge from "Satti Zhuldyz" funds to charitable programmes — educational grants, paediatric neurosurgery and sports infrastructure.
Article 14 of the Law "On Lotteries and Lottery Activity" provides for contributions from the difference between revenue and the prize fund: a minimum of 10% to sport and to the "Qazaqstan halqyna" fund, and 3% to creative industries.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT RELATED COMPANIES
In "Satti Zhuldyz" reporting for 2023, transactions with JSC and LLP "Logicom" were recorded: services worth 1.319 billion tenge, fixed assets worth 32.3 million tenge and intangible assets worth 182 million tenge. In total, this is about 1.533 billion tenge.
JSC "Logicom" now has a single shareholder — the Dutch company KS8 Holding B.V. This is confirmed by a disclosure by the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) as of 1 April 2026. Sergey Shvalov remains president of "Logicom".
In the reporting of "Satti Zhuldyz" for 2025, the repayment to Sergey Shvalov of 466.117 million tenge of previously provided interest-free financing was disclosed. As at the date of signing the reporting, 28 May 2026, the debt owed to him stood at 1.224 billion tenge.