Cyprus to Legalize Online SPorts Betting

Friday, July 29, 2016 : ONLINE SPORTS BETTING TO BE LEGALISED IN CYPRUS
 
Regions of the island under Greek control will begin accepting licence applications later this year.
 
The good news for online sports betting operators this week is that the areas of Cyprus under Greek legislative authority will soon legalise their activity and offer licensing.
 
The legalization will apply only to sports betting, leaving bans against online casino and poker activity in place.
 
Announcing the changes, the president of the Cyprus National Betting Authority, Ioanna Fiakkou, revealed that his Authority will begin accepting licence applications early in October, and a month later any operator accessing Cyprus residents without a local licence will be subject to enforcement measures that will include ISP blocking.
 
Opening up the online sports betting market will enable the cash-strapped Greek government to raise more tax revenues, and is part of an overall plan to award a land casino licence, privatise the state lottery and licence VLTs at brick and mortar operator subsidiary venues, the local finance ministry explained.