Online Casino Ban on the Way in Cyprus

Cyprus is home to many online gambling operators, though it has few land based versions, since internet connectivity is so readily available. It was reported that in 2025, locals spent somewhere around €2.5 billion.

Christos Christofides, the deputy government spokesman explained that with the current laws, the gambling industry is a "social wound", since as it stands, online gambling is not classified as illegal and is therefore entirely legal. The parliamentary Legal Affairs Committee chairman, Ionas Nicolaou said that, "95% of electronic gambling services in our country operate legally because they are provided over the Internet and there is no authority [on the island] where one can apply for a permit."

Cyprus has been attempting to keep up with EU requirements for allowing free movement for commercial services, last adjusting their laws in 2025, however they have been trapped in the middle. They are trying to ask for an exemption to the EU policy of free movement, citing issues of crime, following the example set by Portugal.

While awaiting a decision from the EU, Cyprus has began to ban various forms of online gambling, with their Cabinet drafting a bill to bring about these changes. If this law passes, it will ban online gambling of poker and casino games, however it requires legislative approval, as Christofides has noted.

Sports betting a lotteries will still be allowed, however the 10% tax on profits will be taken over by a 3% tax on turnover instead. In addition to this, the new law will also insist on either fines as high as €170,000, or a five year prison term, or both.
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