‘New Online Betting Regulations will create significant prospects for the economy.’

Harris Georgiades, Minister of Finance

Online betting regulations, together with other measures concerning the betting industry, will create significant prospects for the Cyprus economy, according to the speech of the Cyprus Minister of Finance, Harris Georgiades at the National Betting Authority. Specifically, Mr Georgiades stated that ‘By opening and regulating online betting and the rest steps undertaken [by the government] in the betting industry we create new significant prospect for the economy’. That is to say, the betting activity will generate new job positions. Furthermore, online betting could be an additional source of public revenue.

Mr Georgiades outlined that the government has developed a five pillar strategy concerning:

1. The operation of an integrated casino resort;

2. The licensing of Video Lottery Terminals (VLT) gaming machines in the context of the casino license;

3. The concession of the operation of the state lottery to a private investor;

4. The regulation of betting games offered by the Greek Organisation of Football Prognostics S.A (OPAP) via legislation rather than through a bilateral agreement with Greece;

5. The licensing of online betting firms;

The ‘Betting Law of 2012’ (106(I)/2012) set the regulatory framework for online betting via Class B license.

According to the existing legislation, the regulatory body for online betting activities is the National Betting Authority (NBA).

The main duties of the NBA include:

• The licensing and the supervision of authorised betting services providers;

• The monitoring of illegal gambling;

• The protection of minors and addicted gamblers;

The President of Cyprus National Betting Authority (CNBA), Ioanna Fiakkou, clarified that the CNBA will take applications for the licensing of online betting firms on the 3rd of October for a month. According to Ms Fiakkou, in November of 2016, the CNBA will publish a list of companies to be blacklisted given that they have not applied for a license. Among others, Ms Fiakkou stated that the CNBA will undergo a restructuring based on a study that will be carried out by a private consulting firm.

The short deadline set for the application process endorses the need for the operators to fulfil timely the necessary procedures so that to be able to provide online betting services lawfully avoiding the risk to be blacklisted and blocked.

Legal Support:

Applying for online gambling license requires an adequate legal support as a professional lawyer will provide you with the necessary legal support so that to carry out all the necessary bureaucratic procedure effectively and efficiently.