Legal casino gambling age in CyprusThe Republic of Cyprus divides gambling into separate legal regimes, each with its own law and supervisor. Betting on sports and other events is licensed by the National Betting Authority (NBA) under the Betting Law of 2019 (Law 37(I)/2019), and this is the only form of online gambling that a private company can be licensed to offer. Online casino games, online poker and online slots cannot be licensed and are prohibited. Land-based casino gaming is a separate, exclusive concession: a single integrated casino resort in Limassol, with satellite casinos, operates under the Casino Operation and Control Law of 2015 and is supervised by the Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission. Numerical lottery games and certain other games are run exclusively by OPAP Cyprus under a state concession, alongside the government’s State Lotteries. This guide explains how the system developed, the laws and regulators involved, online enforcement, the position of players, taxation, responsible gambling measures and recent developments.
Key points
- The Betting Law of 2019 (Law 37(I)/2019), amended in 2020 and 2024, governs betting. The NBA issues Class A (land-based) and Class B (online) bookmaker licences. In the first quarter of 2026 there were 6 Class A and 13 Class B licensees.
- Online casino games, slots, poker, betting exchanges and spread betting cannot be licensed. The NBA describes the operation of online casinos as “strictly prohibited”.
- The NBA keeps a public blocking list of unlicensed gambling websites. By the end of March 2026 it contained 22,415 blocked sites.
- According to the NBA, under Article 79 of the Betting Law a person who takes part in illegal gambling faces up to one year in prison and/or a fine of up to €50,000. We found no published record of a player being convicted.
- Licensed bookmakers pay a 10% betting tax on net revenue plus a contribution, which the NBA applied at 5% in 2026. The casino operator pays 15% of gross gaming revenue under the 2015 casino legislation.
- Players can self-exclude from all Class B online betting operators through a national platform launched in February 2024. Casino self-exclusion is handled under the Gaming Commission’s framework, and support is available through the 1454, 1456 and 1422 helplines.
Last reviewed: 6 October 2026.
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Historical development
Before 2012, gambling in Cyprus rested on older statutes that did not deal with the internet. A 2012 commentary by the LLPO law firm notes laws dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, including a sports betting law of 1972 and a 1996 law on gaming machines. It concluded that these laws “did not provide anything for remote/on-line gambling”, which made prosecution of online operators very difficult and left the state unable to tax the activity.
The Betting Law of 2012 (Law 106(I)/2012) changed this. According to a 2014 review by Elias Neocleous & Co, the law set up the National Betting Authority and licensed betting on sports and other events, while it “prohibits and criminalises all games of chance, including online games”, together with spread betting, exchange (peer-to-peer) betting and slot machines. Licences were issued for one or two years.
Land-based casinos were not permitted in the Republic until 2015. The Casino Operation and Control Law of 2015 (Law 124(I)/2015) came into force on 21 July 2015, according to an information sheet by Tsielepis & Co. It provided for one integrated casino resort licence with up to four satellite casinos. The licence was awarded to a consortium led by Melco, which opened a temporary casino in Limassol on 28 June 2018, according to the Gaming Commission. The permanent resort, City of Dreams Mediterranean, opened on 10 July 2023 (Melco press release).
The 2012 betting law was replaced by the Betting Law of 2019, which is the law in force today. The CyLaw text records that it repeals the 2012 law and has been amended by Laws 120(I)/2020 and 162(I)/2024.
Legal framework
The main legal instruments are:
- the Betting Law of 2019 (Law 37(I)/2019) (Ο περί Στοιχημάτων Νόμος του 2019), as amended. It establishes the National Betting Authority (Article 3), defines a minor as a person under 18 (Article 2), sets the licence classes (Article 16) and contains the prohibitions and penalties for illegal gambling. Four sets of regulations made under it deal with player protection, advertising, fees and licensing procedure (CMS Expert Guide);
- the Casino Operation and Control Law of 2015 (Law 124(I)/2015), amended by Laws 107(I)/2020 and 192(I)/2022, and its regulations. It governs the casino resort and satellite casinos and established the Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission;
- the law on designated games of chance published in June 2018, which, according to Cyprus Business Now, is the legal basis for the exclusive concession granted to OPAP Cyprus in 2024. General laws, such as data protection law, also apply to operators (Legal 500, 2025).
Article 16 of the Betting Law requires a licence for any betting service. Class B (online) licences cover “electronic betting services” but exclude gaming machines, casino games of chance provided through a direct link, and electronic horse-race betting. The CMS Expert Guide summarises the result: sports betting and betting on events involving human participants are allowed online, while virtual games betting, online horse-race betting, online casino games, card games and lotteries are not. The European Casino Association country report notes that the Betting Law also contains a general prohibition on other online games of chance, and separate prohibitions on betting exchanges and spread betting.
Gambling activities outside the Betting Law
Two activities sit outside the NBA’s licensing system. The casino resort and satellite casinos are governed only by the 2015 casino law, and that law does not cover online gaming, according to Tsielepis & Co. The second is a group of lottery-type and pool games reserved to OPAP Cyprus. Under a concession that took effect on 26 June 2024, OPAP Cyprus received a 15-year licence to “exclusively conduct, provide, and manage” designated games, including Tzoker, Lotto, Proto, Kino, Super 3, Extra 5, Propo and Propogoal, through more than 200 agencies. The NBA supervises the concession (Cyprus Business Now, 2024). The government’s State Lotteries, together with OPAP Cyprus, were named by the NBA in April 2024 as lawful providers alongside licensed Class A betting premises (Cyprus Mail, April 2024).
EU law context
Cyprus has been an EU member state since 2004. There is no sector-specific EU legislation on gambling. The European Commission states that member states “are autonomous in the way they organise their gambling services, as long as they comply with the fundamental freedoms” of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, and that some states restrict online gambling to particular products. A licence from another EU state does not authorise an operator to serve players in Cyprus; the NBA treats any online betting provider without a Cyprus Class B licence as illegal (NBA).
Territorial scope
Under Protocol No 10 to the 2003 Act of Accession, “the application of the acquis shall be suspended in those areas of the Republic of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control.” The laws described in this guide are applied in the areas under the Government’s effective control. In the northern part of the island, casinos operate under rules made by the Turkish Cypriot administration (the self-declared “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, recognised only by Turkey). OCCRP reported in July 2025 that amendments adopted there in 2025 removed a cap on casino licences, that 33 casinos were active, and that residents’ entry into casinos, previously a criminal offence, now carries a €50 fine.
Regulators and licensing model
National Betting Authority
The NBA was established in 2012 and now operates under Article 3 of the 2019 law. It describes itself as “an independent regulatory authority with financial independence and autonomy” (NBA, Safer Gambling portal).
Cyprus follows a licensing model for betting: any company that meets the conditions may apply, and there is no fixed number of licences. The NBA’s frequently asked questions give the main terms:
- Class A bookmaker licence: betting in licensed premises. Class A authorised representative licence: a person acting for a Class A bookmaker in premises. Premises licence: for each betting shop;
- Class B bookmaker licence: online betting. Licensed websites must use a “.com.cy” domain (NBA);
- duration of one or two years, renewable. Fees are €30,000 for one year and €45,000 for two years for a Class A or Class B bookmaker licence; €2,000 or €3,000 for an authorised representative or a premises licence (the first premises of each Class A bookmaker is free);
- minimum share capital of €500,000 and a bank guarantee of €550,000;
- administrative fines of up to €100,000 for breaches.
The NBA’s report for the first quarter of 2026 lists 6 Class A bookmakers operating 459 licensed premises and 13 Class B (online) licensees. In that quarter players staked about €360.1 million (“pay in”) and received €314.2 million in winnings (“pay out”), leaving gross gaming revenue (GGR, stakes less winnings) of €45.9 million. Online betting accounted for €29.7 million of GGR. The current list of licensees is published on the NBA website.
Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission
The Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission, also called the Cyprus Gaming Commission, was established in 2015 under the casino law and began operating in January 2018 (Gaming Commission; Politis, 2024). It regulates, licenses and supervises the casino resort and its satellite casinos. This is a concession model: one operator holds the only casino licence. According to Tsielepis & Co, the licence runs for 30 years with an exclusivity period of 15 years, during which no other casino licence may be issued. Up to four satellite casinos are allowed in other districts, each with up to 50 gaming machines. Melco stated in 2023 that it operated four licensed satellite casinos (Melco); Politis named casinos in Nicosia, Paphos and Ayia Napa among them. Entry to the gaming floor is limited to people aged 21 and over (Gaming Commission FAQ).
Online gambling
What is permitted
The only online gambling that private operators can be licensed to offer is betting under an NBA Class B licence. In an announcement of 8 August 2025, the NBA stated that “the operation of online casinos is strictly prohibited” and reported “a rise in misinformation and the spread of false claims regarding the legality of certain websites”, including advertisements for illegal casinos on social media. The draft bill described below mentions unspecified “new products”; we found no published proposal to license online casino games.
Website blocking
Article 15 of the Betting Law empowers the NBA to notify internet service providers of each website address that offers illegal betting services (CyLaw), and the NBA cites Article 69 of the law as the provision that prohibits access to unlicensed gambling websites (NBA). The NBA publishes a blocking list of illegal gambling websites. According to its FAQ, blocked sites include those offering poker, online casino games, spread betting and betting exchanges, as well as unlicensed bookmakers. Blocking began in February 2013, when the NBA ordered providers to block about 270 addresses within 72 hours (Yogonet). The list stood at 22,415 at the end of March 2026, with 406 added in the first quarter of 2026 (NBA, Q1 2026).
Payments and new enforcement tools
We found no provision in force that requires banks or payment institutions to block payments to unlicensed gambling sites. The NBA’s president told Politis in October 2025 that a proposed new regulatory bill would introduce financial blocking of illegal operators, a licensing regime for business-to-business (B2B) suppliers and tougher safer-gambling obligations for licensees. The status of that bill is described under recent developments.
Advertising
Advertising by licensees is governed by regulations made under the Betting Law (CMS). The NBA’s August 2025 warning was directed in particular at advertising of illegal online casinos on social media, and it asked the public to check the official list of licensed providers before using any site (NBA).
Position of players
The Betting Law addresses players directly. According to the NBA, under Article 79 of the law a person who participates in illegal gambling is liable to imprisonment of up to one year and/or a fine of up to €50,000. A person who provides illegal gambling services is liable to imprisonment of up to five years and/or a fine of up to €300,000. The minimum age for betting is 18 and for the casino 21.
We found no published court decision or official statistic showing that a player has been prosecuted or fined in Cyprus for using an unlicensed online site. Reported enforcement has focused on blocking websites and on premises. For example, police in Paphos seized nine computers on 1 October 2026 in a raid on premises suspected of offering casino games online, as part of what was described as an ongoing crackdown on illegal online gambling (Kiprinform).
The NBA also stresses the practical risks. Its guidance on illegal gambling warns that on illegal websites “there is no guarantee that the money you have deposited is safe”, that terms and conditions may not be honoured and that personal data are not protected. Licensed operators must keep player funds in separate client accounts with credit institutions and verify identity at registration (NBA FAQ).
Taxation
Operators
Licensed bookmakers pay a betting tax of 10% of net revenue (that is, GGR) to the state and a contribution on the same base (NBA FAQ). The NBA’s FAQ gives the contribution as 3%. In December 2024 Parliament voted 27 to 25 to increase it to support football clubs; press reports described a rise from 3% to 4.5% of net earnings (Cyprus Mail; Gambling Insider). The NBA’s report for the first quarter of 2026 applies a 5% contribution, and the NBA’s president described it in 2026 as 4% for sport development and 1% for youth protection and gambling-harm programmes (NBA, Q1 2026; SBC News). In the first quarter of 2026 betting tax amounted to €4.59 million and the contribution to €2.29 million.
OPAP Cyprus pays under its concession rather than under the Betting Law. The Republic receives 22.5% of the concession’s GGR, with a minimum of €20 million a year, and OPAP must allocate a further 5% of GGR to sporting, social and charitable sponsorship. It paid €4.2 million as the first instalment of the concession fee in June 2024 (Cyprus Business Now).
The casino operator pays 15% of casino GGR, a rate that the 2015 legislation does not allow to be raised during the exclusivity period (Tsielepis & Co). The 2026 state budget expected €34.9 million from casino tax, according to Cyprus Business Now (December 2025).
Players
The Gaming Commission states that casino “player winnings are not taxable” (Gaming Commission FAQ). For betting, a Cyprus consultancy states that winnings from licensed betting are not subject to personal income tax (Enalian, 2025); we did not find an official statement from the tax authorities on this point.
Consumer protection and responsible gambling
Safer gambling is shared between the two regulators. The NBA runs the Safer Gambling portal, with self-assessment tests, an expenditure calculator and information on support. It lists two free helplines: 1454 for adults aged 22 and over and 1456 for young people up to the age of 22. The NBA’s president told Politis in 2025 that the authority spends more than €1 million a year on prevention and education, and cited a 2022 survey in which 1.5% of the population showed problem gambling, 3.5% moderate-risk and 6% low-risk gambling (Politis).
A national self-exclusion platform was launched by the NBA on 20 February 2024 as part of its Safer Gambling Strategy 2022–2025. Players can exclude themselves for a set period or indefinitely from all Class B online betting operators. During the exclusion they cannot open accounts or place bets, but can log in to withdraw their remaining funds (Gambling Insider).
For the casinos, the Gaming Commission’s framework allows people to apply to the operator for self-exclusion. Exclusions may also be requested by family members, the police, a court or the operator, and may be permanent or temporary (Gaming Commission FAQ). The Commission promotes the free helpline 1422 and the GambleControl information site (Cyprus Mail, April 2026). Our general responsible gambling guide explains limit-setting and warning signs.
Recent and upcoming developments
- February 2024: national self-exclusion. The NBA launched its self-exclusion platform for online betting (Gambling Insider).
- June 2024: OPAP Cyprus concession. A 15-year exclusive concession for designated games of chance took effect on 26 June 2024 (Cyprus Business Now).
- December 2024: higher contribution. Parliament approved an increase in the contribution paid by licensed bookmakers to fund football clubs and academies; Law 162(I)/2024 is listed on CyLaw as an amendment to the Betting Law (Cyprus Mail; CyLaw).
- April 2025: casino cash exemption. Parliament voted 25 to 17 to exempt casinos from the €10,000 limit on cash transactions, subject to a declaration requirement. Opponents raised money-laundering concerns (Yogonet).
- August 2025: warning on illegal online casinos. The NBA restated the prohibition and the penalties under Article 79 (NBA).
- November 2025 to August 2026: draft bill. The NBA’s president described a draft bill with a “more holistic approach to tackling unlicensed activity”, including B2B licensing (Cyprus Mail). In August 2026 he said the B2B licensing regime was still proposed legislation (SBC News). We found no record of its passage by Parliament at the time of review.
Casino listings for players in Cyprus
The listings below are generated automatically from our casino database and do not by themselves show that an operator is licensed in Cyprus. Offering online casino games to residents of Cyprus is prohibited and cannot be licensed, and the listings must not be read as an indication that playing at these sites is lawful. Only Class B licensees of the National Betting Authority may offer online betting; readers should check the NBA’s list of licensed bookmakers and blocking list.
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Sources and further reading
- CyLaw, Ο περί Στοιχημάτων Νόμος του 2019 (Betting Law of 2019, Law 37(I)/2019) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- CyLaw, Ο περί της Λειτουργίας και του Ελέγχου Καζίνου Νόμος του 2015 (Casino Operation and Control Law, Law 124(I)/2015) (accessed 6 October 2026).
- National Betting Authority, Illegal gambling (accessed 6 October 2026).
- National Betting Authority, National Betting Authority warns public about illegal online gambling and misinformation (2025).
- National Betting Authority, Frequently asked questions (accessed 6 October 2026).
- National Betting Authority, Quarterly financial results and quantitative data, Q1 2026 (2026).
- National Betting Authority, Safer Gambling (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission, Regulation (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission, FAQs (accessed 6 October 2026).
- CMS, CMS Expert Guide to Online Gambling Regulation in Europe: Cyprus (2023).
- X. Kasapi (E & G Economides LLC), Industry Standards and Regulation in the Gaming Industry under Cyprus Law, Legal 500 (2025).
- Elias Neocleous & Co LLC, Cyprus’ Betting Act: The Key Developments Two Years On (2014).
- Tsielepis & Co, Information Sheet 10: Cyprus Casino Legislation (2015).
- European Union, Protocol No 10 on Cyprus, Act of Accession 2003 (2003).
- European Commission, Gambling (accessed 6 October 2026).
- Cyprus Business Now, OPAP Cyprus: Concession Agreement and awarding of 15-year license (2024).
- Cyprus Mail, MPs approve levy hike to support football clubs (2024).
- Gambling Insider, Cyprus launches self-exclusion service for gambling and betting activity (2024).
- Politis, Illegal gambling: Cyprus betting regulator’s biggest challenge (2025).
- SBC News, Cyprus lays down groundwork for effective gambling regulation (2026).
- OCCRP, Northern Cyprus will double casinos amid money laundering risk (2025).
- Melco Resorts & Entertainment, Melco announces City of Dreams Mediterranean is to open in Limassol, Cyprus on July 10, 2023 (2023).
