Cyprus’ National Betting Authority (Εθνική Αρχή Στοιχημάτων) is to block around 2,500 gambling websites that have been providing their services to local customers despite being forbidden to do so. Representatives for the regulator took part in a Monday meeting organized by the Mediterranean country’s House Finance Committee.
Apart from the above-mentioned online gambling issue, participants in the meeting were also focused on discussing new pieces of legislation regarding the regulation of sports betting and different games of chance.
The National Betting Authority announced earlier this month that the submission deadline for interested sports betting operators to apply for a license to operate in the newly regulated local market was reached. As a result, the regulator said that it would update its blocking list, adding around 2,500 websites to have been found to operate illegally in Cyprus.
The blacklist was comprised of operators that have either missed the deadline for a certain reason or have continued operating in the Cypriot market without being authorized to do so.
Here it is also important to note that Cyprus’ Betting Authority has allowed certain applicants to offer online sports betting options to Cypriot bettors within a transitional period. Major sports betting brands Betfair, bet365, and Sportingbet have been among those to have been given the green light to operate during the transitional period in question.
Online casino games, poker, and exchange betting are strictly prohibited under Cyprus’ 2012 gambling law. National Betting Authority representatives said during the Monday meeting that their online gambling crackdown was targeting mainly websites offering online casino options.
Another important topic to be discussed yesterday was Greek lottery operator OPAP’s monopoly over lottery games in the island republic. Under an interstate agreement between Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, the gambling company must pay €10 million in taxes per year for the right to be the sole provider of lottery options.
However, according to a review conducted by Cyprus’ Auditor General, Dr. Odysseas Michaelides, the small Mediterranean country has been losing €1 million monthly in taxes as a result from its deal with OPAP.
In 2014, news spread that the Cypriot Government intended to terminate the intestate agreement and introduce new lottery regulations. It later on backed off from its decision, but as it seems the idea has been once again put on the table.
A bill that calls for the provision of exclusive lottery rights to a certain operator for a certain period and under certain conditions has recently been introduced. Under the proposed legislation, the lottery licensee would have to pay a 24% tax on annual gross profits or at least €20 million every year, if the 24% gross profit share does not exceed €20 million. The bill is yet to be considered by the House.
