HEATED disputes yesterday resulted in two MPs storming out of a parliamentary discussion on the gaming bill, amid accusations of personal interests being served by the proposed law.
The bill, which was being examined jointly by the House Legal Affairs, Finance, and Institutions Committees, brought two committee chairmen into conflict, resulting in the session being closed to the media halfway through.
As tempers flared inside, a very irate Averof Neophytou, opposition DISY’s number two, stormed out of the meeting, saying he couldn’t participate in a discussion when doubts had been raised over possible personal interests that could be hidden behind the bill.
Neophytou was closely followed by DIKO’s Angelos Votsis, who was equally annoyed at the way the whole matter was being handled by the two chairmen.
Legal Affairs Committee Chairman, DISY’s Ionas Nicolaou – who had mentioned the “hidden personal interests” – later explained that he wasn’t referring to any MP. However “certain interests are affected by this bill,” he said. He added: “I have no personal interests in this bill and I won’t be bought by anyone.”
Nicolaou then came into conflict with Institutions Committee chairman, EVROKO’s Rikkos Erotokritou, by questioning a proposal for the Commission for the Protection of Competition (CPC) to submit its views on the bill.
Nicolaou maintained that this had not been part of the draft that was sent to the European Commission for approval before the bill was sent to the House.
This angered Erotokritou, who said there was clearly a need to see whether competition rules were being violated.
The bill – which hopes to regulate gambling and put some serious restrictions on the supply of online betting games – has been the subject of some controversy of late; shops offering online gambling services claimed there was clear preferential treatment in OPAP’s favour.
They say OPAP – a Greek betting organisation that operates the Lotto in Cyprus under a bilateral agreement – has been left out of the equation and would have a monopoly. Yesterday, a spokesman for the Legal Services said a full report on the bill would be submitted on Monday. The CPC spokesman said the Commission needed more time to conclude whether competition regulations were being violated.
At their next session, the committees will be looking at taxation issues, with the Finance Minister attending. Politicians hope to pass the bill before the May parliamentary elections.
