Cyprus keeps granting sports betting licenses
The gaming regulator in Cyprus confirmed the issuance of more online sports betting licenses.
Cyprus.- The National Betting Authority (EAS) of Cyprus announced that it issued two more online betting licenses. Betfair’s brand Paddy Power Betfair and Meridian Gaming (CY) Ltd are the operators who obtained the benefits.
Last year, Cyprus decided to create a new gambling system and drafted, presented and approved a new online regulatory scheme that came into effect in November. With these two approvals, the betting authority has granted 13 licenses: Bet365, Bet On Alfa, Stoiximan, SportingBet and Winmasters are among the companies that obtained them in the last six months. The new regime establishes that online sports betting operators must pay a 13 percent tax of gaming revenue, 10 percent in direct tax, a 2 percent to local sporting bodies and the remaining 1 percent to fund responsible gaming programs.
The license holders also have to pay US$32.000 annually and show that they have more than US$537 in capital reservations. In November the EAS also confirmed that they’re in the process of blocking the sites that are currently not operating under the guidelines of the 2012 government’s legislation concerning online casinos, online poker and sports betting, all banned in the European country.
Earlier this month, the attorney-general of Cyprus Costas Clerides commanded the local police to start an investigation that involves Greek company OPAP. The official ordered the measure after OPAP declined to show its financial records for a government audit. OPAP was under the spotlight after the auditor-general Odysseas Michaelides issued a report where it’s detailed that the company failed to identify several financial practices. There’s currently a legislation under consideration that would force OPAP to pay Cyprus 24 percent of its gross profits in exchange of the rights to the monopoly over lottery games for a specified period of time.
