"They hunt rich people" - the story of an entrepreneur who sank into debt through online gambling

“They hunt wealthy people” — the story of an entrepreneur who sank into debt due to online gambling

According to him, a few years ago, following close friends, he got into online gambling and ultimately sank into a whirlpool of debt. He spoke about how gambling games are managed based on precise planning and traps, and how wealthy people are “hunted.”

- Online gambling is a swamp, a trap that buries a person in debt up to their neck. A person who plays it is bound to lose all their property, reputation, respect, job, income, and peace of mind. I have experienced this myself.

I was born in 1985 in Oltinkol district of Andijan region. I was engaged in the ice cream manufacturing business. Before I became addicted to gambling games, I had my entrepreneurship, property, and wealth. I had expensive cars beneath me, good living conditions, and large financial resources; in a word, I was an entrepreneur who could reach whatever he stretched his hand toward.

In 2020, a shop opened in our neighborhood. In front of that shop, out of curiosity, my friends and I played online gambling for $100-$200.

In 2023, a fellow villager named Qosim (name changed) called, saying he had started organizing online gambling games, depositing and withdrawing money, and offering to create conditions for playing. Because of the allure and since his office was close to my house, I started playing gambling with them. In the beginning, I won 90 million soums. They did not give me the money I won...

As time went by, I began losing large sums of money. Because I paid on time, Qosim kept putting money into my account on credit. He never grew tired of organizing lavish feasts, inviting me to his office, and enticing me to play online gambling. I do not mean to justify myself with these words. I am the primary cause of playing this game and getting into online gambling; the mistake lies with me.

To entice people into online gambling, such a perfect environment is created that you do not notice how you become completely addicted to the game. More than enough conditions are provided for you to gamble. The direction of this game and its organizers is such that they keep driving you into debt depending on your money, funds, and ability to pay. They know you in advance, have thoroughly studied you, and know very well how much money you can bet. They offer you credit based on your house, the car beneath you, the money in your pocket, and, if necessary, even how much money your relatives have. They keep you as their permanent customer. They have an interest in keeping you. To them, you are cashless, and through you, they turn over a large "turnover" of money. They always need a moneyed "client" like you.

In this manner, I could not get out of this swamp, this trap. I fell into their snare myself, and this process continued. Having lost all my funds, I then began borrowing money from those close to me around me.

- In the beginning, I viewed the game as entertainment. Because I did not need the money or funds coming from gambling. My financial condition was extremely good; I was well-off. Out of curiosity, I deposited $200. I lost the $200, I lost it... After that, an addiction to the game began to awaken.

The more you play online gambling, the more you fall into a trap, a swamp, get entangled, and become completely addicted. It resembles the state of a person who smokes or drinks liquor, getting cravings if they do not drink or smoke. As a person grows accustomed, they plunge deeper into this swamp, this trap.

Online gambling is built on traps and snares. No one wins in this game. The more a person plays, the faster and stronger the addiction to the game, financial loss, and loss of health become.

- In the beginning, I deposited money through the cash desk of the online casino organized by Qosim and won 90 million soums. When I asked him to give me the money I won, he said he currently had no cash and would give the money within a week or a week and a half. I could not get the money I won in cash. In this manner, I slowly entered the game and became increasingly bound to it. Whenever I had no money with me, he would give me credit every time, and I would take loans...

Thus, within a month and a half, I lost $300 thousand in cash. I did not have a single soum left. After that, debts began to be recorded against me.

After I ran into $10 thousand in debt, Qosim said I needed to provide the money quickly. He said his partner named Aziz (name changed) had invested money in gambling games, and if I wanted, he could help. Qosim and Aziz came to me. He said he had a Malibu and would give it for $25 thousand. Agreeing to pay it back within a one-year period, I took that Malibu for $50 thousand. To be precise, they gave me $25 thousand in hand. I gave $10 thousand toward my debt. The remaining $15 thousand I lost again playing gambling with them...

The game continued in this manner. After the Malibu, they gave a Cobalt, then a Gentra car, which were turned into "installments" when I was in debt. The process went on in this state; even when I had no money, they drove me into debt themselves, supplied me with money, and continued their work through installments on this debt. In the end, I was forced to sell even the ice cream manufacturing machinery...

- In December 2023, I stopped playing. Until February 2024, I did not play online gambling games. Because I was deeply in debt. I tried as much as possible not to go to gambling dens.

By around February 2024, money started coming into my hands again. Those who had gotten used to making a good income off me contacted me again. Qosim said he had money in his cash desk and that if I played, he would keep providing an account again.

I got caught in the trap again; I sank into debt again. Because of gambling, I fell into the pit again. Ultimately, I lost another sum of nearly $70 thousand. This time, because I had no money left, I borrowed money from merchants and entrepreneurs who work with me.

- On March 20, 2024, I stopped playing. At that time, I had a debt of approximately over $200 thousand recorded against me. Finding money, I began paying off my debts. First of all, I set a goal for myself to return the money of people who trusted me and lent me their honest money, and I set to work earning money.

In the meantime, the online gambling organizers would even come to my house and workplace carrying knives, causing disturbances, saying, "Pay your debt, or I will kill you."

Matters reached such a point that Aziz resorted to deception to get his money from me. Out of helplessness, I wrote a fake receipt saying, "I took $100 thousand from my acquaintances to buy sugar, and I will return it in 2 years." They even recorded a video clip claiming that I had supposedly taken $100 thousand in debt from them.

After that, they left me alone for a while; we did not talk again, nor did we meet. After 25 days passed, they filed a complaint against me with the Department of Internal Affairs, saying: "He took $100 thousand in debt and is not paying it back, telling lies."

A restrictive measure of arrest was applied against me. During the investigation process, I stated that I had not taken this money, that in fact those who wrote the complaint against me had trapped me, and had driven me into debt through online gambling games.

Court proceedings began. In court as well, I spoke the actual truth. However, the receipt and video recording were accepted as serious evidence, and I was sentenced to 8 years of deprivation of liberty. Thus, if I was arrested on December 10, 2023, on April 4, 2024, a verdict was issued sentencing me to 8 years of deprivation of liberty. In June 2024, I began serving my sentence in the "zone" in Qarshi.

I spent 14 months in prison. After Aziz reached an agreement with my relatives and testified in court saying, "I have received the material damage caused in full, and I hold no malice toward him," on February 20, 2024, I was released from the penal institution in Qarshi.

- I would like to ask one thing as a request from our government and responsible organizations. Online gambling games are spreading widely among the people. This plague is drawing people, especially youth, very severely under its influence, into a whirlpool, into a swamp. The situation must be taken under control; otherwise, the situation will only worsen.

How does this online gambling, the system of depositing money into accounts, work? I will state it using the example of Andijan region.

In Andijan region, a large portion of outlets under the guise of Paynet are engaged in depositing money for online gambling games. They perform other payments as well, and they also deposit money for online gambling games. While they make a 1-2 percent income by topping up phone balances, they earn up to an 8-10 percent income from online gambling games. In the city of Andijan and its districts, they have multiplied greatly under the guise of Paynet. I ask and request our government and relevant responsible organizations to take appropriate measures in a timely manner against this plague, this vice, this disease that is leading people into a swamp.

There are very many people like me who played gambling and fell into a dire situation. Only, out of embarrassment, they simply cannot say that they have sunk into debt. While playing online gambling, I witnessed many people becoming buried in debt up to their necks. I ask that a fierce struggle be declared against the game across the entire republic, saving our people from this vice, this calamity. True, the fault is mine; I do not deny this. Playing online gambling, I sank into debt. I have no peace of mind... I will certainly return the debt recorded against me to them, but this requires time.

For 3 years, I experienced heartbreaking ordeals. Even after 3 years, I am unable to completely escape from this trap, this snare, this "scheme." On top of that, my life and peace of mind remain under threat and danger. Those who forced me onto this path and caused my imprisonment have now moved to putting pressure on my brother-in-law and relatives. I request the relevant organizations to study my situation and provide me with legal assistance.