Entertainment - The Times Of Central Asia

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Gambling

Kyrgyzstan Launches Unified State Lottery Infrastructure

Kyrgyzstan is consolidating all private lottery operations into a single, state-controlled system as part of a national initiative to modernize the sector and align it with international standards. The project is being implemented by the Information Security Center in partnership with the state-owned enterprise Kyrgyzloto. Under the new framework, all types of lottery draws in the country will be brought under state oversight. Authorities say the system will provide full transparency over financial flows, enable real-time monitoring of sales and payouts, and protect citizens from unscrupulous operators. The Lottery Information Processing Center will manage real-time data collection on ticket sales, draw results, and prize pools. Financial and fiscal oversight will be conducted by the Ministry of Finance and the State Tax Service. “Our task is to agree on the rules for conducting lotteries and to form a fund for targeted deductions. We intend to unify the draws and channel the proceeds into useful areas,” said Sherik Kasmaliev, director of Kyrgyzloto, during a press briefing. Government projections estimate that over the next ten years, the national lottery could generate approximately $1 billion in tax revenues and licensing fees. Officials also believe the launch of a unified state lottery system will provide a legal alternative to illegal gambling, help curb gambling addiction, and return billions of som previously lost to unlicensed foreign platforms back into the domestic economy. All data processing and storage infrastructure will be located within Kyrgyzstan, which project developers say will enhance cybersecurity and reduce the risk of capital outflows.

Entertainment

Russian Organization Builds Amusement Park in Bishkek

On August 28, a new amusement park named Eurasia officially opened in Bishkek. Covering approximately 10 hectares, the park offers free admission and features around 30 amusement rides, sports facilities, and a food court. The project began in 2024 as part of a collaboration between Kyrgyzstan’s Cabinet of Ministers and Russia’s non-profit organization for international cooperation, Eurasia. Total investment in the park reached $35 million. The initiative commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), a regional integration bloc comprising Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. All construction and equipment costs were funded by the Eurasia organization. Expanding Russia’s Soft Power Since 2024, Eurasia has been active in Kyrgyzstan through various social and humanitarian projects. In partnership with Russia’s Ministry of Education, the organization has deployed young Russian teachers to secondary schools across Kyrgyzstan to instruct in specialized subjects taught in Russian. Eurasia has also donated 100 school buses to rural Kyrgyz villages and funded renovations of schools in Bishkek and Kyzyl-Kyya. On August 26, the organization opened its first social store, also named Eurasia, in Bishkek. The store aims to support vulnerable populations, including pensioners, veterans, large families, and people with disabilities, by offering essential food items at reduced prices.

Tourism

American Firm to Build Theme Park in Kyrgyzstan

U.S.-based IdeAttack, Inc. is set to build a theme park in Tokmok, a city located approximately 60 kilometers east of Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek. The Tourism Development Support Fund of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Chui District Administration have signed a memorandum with IdeAttack, allocating a 50-hectare land plot for the park’s development. IdeAttack specializes in the planning and design of large-scale mixed-use developments, theme parks, cultural attractions, and destination resorts. The company has previously delivered projects in the United States, United Arab Emirates, China, and South Korea. The Tokmok park will feature: Architecture inspired by Central Asian fantasy Attractions based on the Kyrgyz Epic of Manas Theme zones centered on the Great Silk Road Live shows with music, dance, and theatrical performances Master classes on yurt-making, felt production, horse riding, and traditional cuisine This marks IdeAttack’s first project in both Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia. The initiative is expected to boost international tourism to the region.

Entertainment

Jennifer Lopez to Perform in Tashkent for the First Time

Global pop icon Jennifer Lopez will perform in Tashkent on August 7, as part of her Up All Night - Live in 2025 world tour, according to Uzbekistan’s Art and Culture Development Foundation. The concert, set to take place at Milliy Stadium, will mark Lopez’s debut performance in Uzbekistan. The event is part of a broader initiative by the Foundation to promote international cultural exchange and boost the country's tourism sector. Earlier, The Times of Central Asia reported that Lopez is also scheduled to perform in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana later this summer. Local organizers there estimate her concert could generate over $12 million in economic activity and yield nearly $800,000 in tax revenue. Jennifer Lopez, known as J. Lo, is one of the most prominent entertainers of her generation. A singer, actress, and dancer with a career spanning more than 30 years, she has received numerous accolades, including the Billboard Icon Award and the MTV Video Vanguard Award. To date, she has sold over 80 million records worldwide.

Entertainment

Very Nice? Sacha Baron Cohen Reprises Borat Role on U.S. Talk Show

Borat is back. Briefly, at least. Actor and comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, who played the fictional journalist from Kazakhstan for laughs in films in 2006 and 2020, resurrected the character in an appearance last week on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Fallon asked Baron Cohen, who had donned a thick, fake mustache, what Borat would say to Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. The results were, well, vintage Borat. Borat´s cringeworthy, often unscripted encounters and scatological brand of humor are either keen satire, or just tasteless and offensive, or perhaps some blend of the two, depending on the perspective. The Borat character is a crude misogynist who talks about “sexy time” with bears in his homeland. But his escapades in the United States are arguably an attempt to lampoon American life or society in general as much as to portray a country in Central Asia, repository of ancient civilizations, as a land of backward buffoons. Borat producers have said they were not trying to convey the actual conduct or beliefs of people in Kazakhstan, where the government took offense when the first movie came out. Later, some people in Kazakhstan warmed to Borat and recognized the public relations boost and even increased tourist numbers linked to Baron Cohen’s outrageous character in a boxy suit. His catchphrase “Very nice!” was the hook in a promotional video for Kazakhstan. In 2006, Erlan Idrissov, who was then Kazakhstan’s ambassador to Britain, expressed unease about Borat´s boorish persona in the successful first movie at a time when, according to the envoy, Kazakhstan was starting to emerge as an economic and political “pace-setter” in the region. “But, sadly, it is still the case that few people in Britain or America know anything about Kazakhstan or can even locate it on a map. They are in no position to judge whether Borat or his movie is remotely credible or fair. Baron Cohen exploits this ignorance to the full,” Idrissov wrote in The Guardian. In 2020, there was less fuss about the second Borat movie in Kazakhstan, whose international stature had grown over the years. “Kazakhstan has grown up, Borat hasn't,” read a headline in Emerging Europe, a regional policy and management group.