The Cyrpus LGA remote casino license falls under the Gambling Regulation Act 75 (I) of 1997, which regulates all gambling operations in Cyprus. Although this sounds very official as it should, the law is not known for being strict by any means.
It is not a well-known license and does not have a great reputation. Most online casinos seek to obtain this particular license because of it relatively easy and cheap to obtaincompared to more trusted licensors such as the Malta Gambling Authority (MGA) or the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC).
Online casinos that are solely licensed by the LGA have come under scrutiny at times with reports of casinos taking advantage of lax regulations in cases of player versus casino disputes. In general, only the casinos seem to be able to get in contacts with the LGA and as such players are unable to use the Cyrpus licensing body as an intermediary.
- Application Process
The application process seems to be a case of being able to pay the yearly registration fees and agreeing to pay yearly taxes.
- Favourable Taxes
Having an online casino company licensed in Cyprus offers several tax benefits. This includes maximum amounts a casino company can be taxed.
Types of Licenses
The way Cyprus governs all forms of gambling can be quite confusing simply because there are a number of regularity boards covering different forms of gambling. This includes both online and offline casinoslotteries,poker, sports betting, and bingo.
Ultimately, all licensing, laws, and regulations fall under the Cyprus Casino Control Law which is broken down into different departments and different class licenses.
Online poker and casino gaming cannot be offered inside Cyrpus, but overseas companies can obtain a license to say they are regulated in Cyprus as long as the casino’s target audiences are not within the Republic of Cyprus. Conversely, online sportsbetting can be offered within Cyprus and abroad. In all cases, remote gambling licensing falls under the wing of the LGA.
As for land-based casinos and games of chance, these are allowed in Cyrpus and are covered by a separate entity, which is the 2015 ‘Cyprus Gaming and Supervision Commission’, which rarely interacts with LGA with the exception of the fact that both entities are spearheaded by the Cyprus Casino Control Law.
There are currently 4 types of licenses available for online casinos:
- Class 1: Online/Remote Gaming License
- Class 2: Online betting office license
- Class 3:Promote gaming from Cyprus
- Class 4:Host and manage online gaming operators
Software Testing and Licensing
It is incredibly difficult to have a license issued by the Cyprus LGA suspended or revoked. In general, the only way an online casino will lose its licensing is if the casino fails to pay its annual fees and/or taxes.
The license does stipulate that games need to be tested 6 months prior to the application, but when it comes to regular checking for fairness and integrity of all games at an online casino, the LGA is not known for regularly carrying out software checks.
For anyone that wants to play at a casino that claims to be licensed in Cyprus, it might also be a good idea to check to the see if it is licensed by another licensing authority that performs regular checks.
Areas of Focus
Although the LGA does not have the best reputation when it comes to casino licensing, it does advertise areas of focus. Integrity checks are carried out on anyone that is involved with the company, responsible gambling measures need to be put in place, monitoring accounts to prevent underage gambling and any online casino operating under this license must provide right and proper customer services.
Player account balances must be kept in a separate account to the casino’s operational cash. This is to ensure that if the casino does become bankrupt or file for liquidation, then the players will be reimbursed their account balances.
How to Achieve Licensing
Applications are made directly to the LGA along with an application fee. There are several prerequisites that make the license appear to be difficult to obtain, but most companies will not have a problem with meeting these requirements.
The licensing application process specifies that the applicant must have an LLC that has been registered in Cyrpus, there is a non-refundable application fee, a key individual needs to be named director and report to the LGA when required. Financial requirements will need to be met as well as a complete overview of the business structure and criminal history of all involved must be submitted.
Once all the above have been approved a 5-year license is approved with a yearly fee of €7,000, which is on top of all taxes incurred throughout the year.
Conclusion
Cyprus Lotteries & Gaming Authority(LGA) is responsible for issuing online casino licenses to companies that want to offer real money online gaming in countries other than Cyrpuswith the exception of online sports betting which is allowed within Cyrpus.
The license is relatively easy to obtain because the requirements are not as strict as alternative licensing authorities, but this also comes to the detriment of the license’s reputation. Areas such as giving players an intermediary and regular software checks are not features of this license.
