Cyprus casinos attract 500k visitors in six months
The casino commission confirmed that the three casinos in Cyprus received nearly half a million visitors.
Cyprus.- The Cyprus Gaming and Casino Supervision Commission has revealed that approximately 470k people have visited the three casinos in Cyprus. The Limassol, Nicosia and Larnaca airport casinos received nearly half million visitors in just six months.
Between June 2018 and January 2019 the casinos registered winnings of €175 million, while the operator made €35 million. The state received €5.25 million in taxes from the casinos. Christos Mavrellis, chairman of the casino commission, said that an additional €4 million were paid to the state for the licences.
Of the 470k visitors, 80% were Cypriots, while 4% were Greeks (neighbouring country) and 11% from other countries. Furthermore, 70% of the casino staff is from Cyprus.
While there were suggestions that the number of visitors fell short of estimations, Mavrellis said that they expect 300k more tourists per year once the casino opens its doors in Limassol in 2021. He confirmed that the commission has also received an application from a tour operator interested in bringing foreign gamblers to the country. He added that similar requests will probably increase when the casino, which is set to be the biggest in the continent, is closer to completion.
