Cyprus warns of licence suspensions for gambling operations with suspected links to crime
The move comes after the National Betting Authority declined to renew the licence of BookieCo.
Cyprus.- Justice minister Costas Fitiris has suggested that the state will use the suspension of licences as “a key tool” in tackling organised crime. He made the remarks after the National Betting Authority declined to renew the licence of BookieCo, an operator owned by detained Larnaca businessman Lazaros Philippou.
Speaking on Alpha TV, Fitiris said he didn’t know the reasons behind the regulator’s decision but noted the arrest of Philippou last month in relation to a shooting in central Larnaca and allegations of interfering with judicial proceedings.
As of this week, BookieCo and its agents are barred from offering betting services, effectively shutting its operations in Cyprus.
Under Cyprus’s 2019 betting law, regulators have discretion to revoke or deny licences based on whether directors and shareholders meet “fit and proper” standards. The legal office is expected to oversee any appeals.
“Another path is opening up for legitimate businesses, the operation of which the state has the ability to suspend,” Fitiris said. “This is also a way to hit organised crime.”
Investigations into Philippou intensified this month when police uncovered videos showing the torture of at least seven people inside a casino in Pyla. Investigators described the footage, seized from suspects already in custody, as among the most disturbing they had ever encountered.
Philippou survived an assassination attempt last July, when a gunman fired ten shots at him while he was cycling in the Dromolaxia industrial area.
