Cyprus and its Nascent Gambling Industry

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Tuesday, August 29th, 2017 | Written by Stephen Smith

In 2012, lawmakers in Cyprus started crafting new gambling laws and regulations, with the island’s government subsequently approving the framework necessary for opening up its online gambling market for sports betting operators. As a result, there is currently a land-based and online gambling expansion currently taking place on the Eastern Mediterranean island, although online casino games and exchange betting operations continue to be banned under the new regulatory framework.

Land Based Casinos

In 2015, the Republic of Cyprus then approved a bill allowing for the opening of an integrated casino resort, representing the first time casino gambling would be permitted on the Greek Orthodox island. If all goes according to plan, the new casino should be ready to open by 2020, with the 70,000 square feet cutting-edge casino offering a VIP lounge called the “Casino in the Sky,” as well as 130 table games, and 1,200 slot machines, providing plenty of entertainment for those people who like to gamble. According to forecats, the venue is expected to bring in around $900 million in just its first two years of operation

Melco and Hard Rock Project

More details are forming about the casino resort, and what other features and facilities the €600 million ($711m) project will offer. Spectrum Gaming Capital in New York, for instance, is saying that the resort is not only going to have all of the above gambling platforms, but it will also boast a 500 room hotel, and a complex that will contain four different meeting rooms, and various conference spaces. This portion of the resort will apparently take up around 42,000 square feet of space, while the venue will also come with a large water park, swimming pool, restaurants, spa and a beach club.

Last year, the bidding for the construction of this casino complex was won by Melco International Development and Hard Rock International alongside the Cyprus based CNS Group as a partner. Only hours after the construction award was given, Hard Rock International annouced that it would be pulling back from its efforts to pursue other development opportunities across a number of other global jurisdictions. In the meantime, Spectrum Gaming Capital has been advising the CNS Group since even before the bidding process first took place, during which time the firms have worked hand in hand to help raise funding, while producing a study of the casino industry’s current prospects.

A Smaller Casino in Nicosia

The casino license further allows for the construction of a smaller satellite casino to be built in the Cypriot capital city of Nicosia, with an opening date expected sometime within the next few months. Alongside this, there are slots-only casinos planned for other important areas on the island, including in the seaside resorts of Larnaca, Ayia Napa and Paphos.

Revenue Generator

While the long-awaited multi-million dollar integrated resort and casino may still be a long ways off, this is only serving to fuel the excitement that many people in Cyprus are feeling in anticipation of the landmark development. With its many amenities, it is set to be one of the largest attractions in the country, as well as a tourist beacon for many other countries located in the region.

Currently, the Republic of Cyprus has a GDP of around $19.8 billion per annum, with the government now forecasting that its nascent casino gambling industry, when completed, will contribute an additional $67 million in taxes, as well as provide permanent employment for 4,000 locals. As President Nicos Anastasiades stated back in 2015 when his government gave the go-ahead for the proposed gambling bill:

“Approval of the legislation.. is another step in the government’s big effort to turn our country in an investment center. [Casinos] enrich our tourism product, upgrade its standing on the tourist map and create the conditions for new jobs.”

Anastasiades’ opinion is in stark contrast to that of the previous President and AKEL leader President Christofias, who only a few years earlier had stated:

“There will be no casinos in Cyprus as long as I am President. Casinos are expression of corruption and can create a crisis to the system.”