Discussions drawing to a close on online gambling

PARLIAMENT is reaching the end of discussions on a draft proposal to put restrictions on online gambling, with one suggestion being to impose filters by telecommunications companies to prevent users from playing on online casinos.

The draft will be submitted to the European Commission for approval, before parliament votes on it.

According to the Chairman of the House Legal Affairs Committee, DISY’s Ionas Nicolaou, the draft was prepared taking into consideration laws from other states, such as France and Portugal.

“Taking into consideration the regulations imposed by other states and with the help of experts invited to our committee, we are close to forming the final draft that will be submitted to the European Commission for approval and which I want to believe will put an end to the phenomena of uncontrollable online gambling in our country,” said Nicolaou.

Parliament, he added, is hoping to achieve restrictions similar to those imposed in Portugal, which refuses to issue licences to betting shops to provide online casino services.

“In this way, it is possible to restrict the situation that exists today in online gambling by not issuing licenses to companies to provide online casinos,” said Nicolaou. “The aim of the proposed law is to ban online casinos in our country altogether.”

Other forms of online gambling such as live betting on horse races or sporting tournaments will be allowed.

Another restrictive idea included in the draft is to force internet providers to install filters that will not allow the use of credit cards for online casinos.

“A similar regulation was passed in France and we asked the Legal Services to examine the possibility of us including it as well,” said Nicolaou. “Such systems exist and operate all over the world.”

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.