STATE REVENUE forecasts must be extremely worrying for the government to have decided to give licences for the operation of casinos. There can be no other plausible explanation for President Christofias U-turn on a matter he had repeatedly voiced very strong moral objections.
The Papadopoulos government was very keen on issuing casino licences, had done a lot of the preparatory work but had to abandon the project, because of the opposition of Christofias, whose party was a member of the government alliance. And after he was elected, Christofias stuck to his guns, emphatically stating in 2009: “There will be no casinos in Cyprus as long as I am president.”
Casinos were “an expression of corruption,” and “there will be none while Christofias is president,” he decreed, two years ago. What has brought about this change of mind? What has made him put aside his fears that casinos would create a crisis in society and plunge families into debt and poverty? We can only guess that state revenue projections for 2012 are so low because of the stagnant property market and low consumption that the government is looking for new sources of income.
Taking a cut of the hundreds of millions (some say a couple of billion) being spent by Cypriots every year on gambling, is not such a bad idea. After all, the president’s moral stand against casinos was rather absurd given that every neighbourhood in Cyprus now has an online casino, while those who wanted the real thing only had to cross to the north. Then there are the countless, illegal gambling clubs operating all over Cyprus not to mention legal betting on horse racing and football matches.
The president was deluding himself if he thought he was protecting people from the terrible social consequences of gambling by taking a hard line on casinos. Financial necessity has forced him to become pragmatic. The opening of casinos would not only raise state revenue, it could also boost the tourism industry, attracting visitors from countries in the region, which do not allow gambling, all the year round.
Now that the decision has been taken, the government will most probably try to hurry the legislation through so that it could start collecting money as soon as possible. This would be a mistake, as very tight rules and regulations need to be put in place while tender specifications must be detailed and thorough. There will be a lot of competition for the licences, which makes the transparent and objective procedures an imperative.
Christofias may have been forced into taking this decision, but he could at least make sure that there are strict regulations governing the operation of the casinos.
