Rustamjon Urinboyev
Docent
“Prayer Helps Better Than a Psychologist” : Islam, Capitalism, and Gambling Addiction in Kazakhstan
Författare
Summary, in English
This article analyses the rapid rise of gambling addiction in Kazakhstan
within the broader context of Central Asia’s evolving gambling economy. Drawing
on ethnographic fieldwork, it shows how digital technologies, regulatory gaps, and
neoliberal reforms have expanded gambling access while deepening its harms.
Official statistics vastly understate the problem, while unofficial estimates suggest
hundreds of thousands are affected. The consequences—family breakdown,
indebtedness, and corruption within public institutions—indicate that gambling
addiction should not be seen merely as an individual pathology but as a structural
vulnerability embedded in digital capitalism and fragile governance. A key
contribution of this study is its focus on religion, particularly Islam, as an
underexplored dimension of coping. Practices such as prayer, fasting, and mosque-
based support provide culturally embedded repertoires of resilience, often
perceived as more effective than secular therapy. Yet these strategies prove fragile
under mounting debts, family obligations, and social pressures, underscoring the
need for complementary measures. The article therefore calls for integrated
responses that combine faith-based, clinical, and structural interventions. By
situating Kazakhstan’s experience within global debates, it advances a pluralistic,
context-sensitive framework that moves beyond Western secular models and
offers fresh insights into gambling addiction in Muslim-majority and post-socialist
societies.
within the broader context of Central Asia’s evolving gambling economy. Drawing
on ethnographic fieldwork, it shows how digital technologies, regulatory gaps, and
neoliberal reforms have expanded gambling access while deepening its harms.
Official statistics vastly understate the problem, while unofficial estimates suggest
hundreds of thousands are affected. The consequences—family breakdown,
indebtedness, and corruption within public institutions—indicate that gambling
addiction should not be seen merely as an individual pathology but as a structural
vulnerability embedded in digital capitalism and fragile governance. A key
contribution of this study is its focus on religion, particularly Islam, as an
underexplored dimension of coping. Practices such as prayer, fasting, and mosque-
based support provide culturally embedded repertoires of resilience, often
perceived as more effective than secular therapy. Yet these strategies prove fragile
under mounting debts, family obligations, and social pressures, underscoring the
need for complementary measures. The article therefore calls for integrated
responses that combine faith-based, clinical, and structural interventions. By
situating Kazakhstan’s experience within global debates, it advances a pluralistic,
context-sensitive framework that moves beyond Western secular models and
offers fresh insights into gambling addiction in Muslim-majority and post-socialist
societies.
Avdelning/ar
- Rättssociologiska institutionen
Publiceringsår
2025-11-05
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
1-1
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Journal of Gambling Issues
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Ämne
- Other Legal Research
Nyckelord
- gambling addiction
- Kazakhstan
- Islam
- capitalism
Aktiv
Published
Projekt
- Multilevel Orders of Corruption in Central Asia
- MARS: Non-Western Migration Regimes in a Global Perspective
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1910-7595