Updated 2026-08-04 · Author: Michael Torres, iGaming Industry Analyst
Cyprus is an EU member state, but its gambling regime licenses betting only, so an online casino licence does not exist here to apply for.
There is no such thing as an online casino licence in Cyprus, because Cypriot law does not permit online casino gaming at all. The National Betting Authority regulates betting, and the online licence it issues, the Class B licence, covers sports and event betting only. Slots, roulette, blackjack, live dealer tables, and every other game of chance are prohibited online, with one narrow exception for a single land-based casino resort that sits under a completely separate law. So if you are shopping for a jurisdiction to run an online casino, Cyprus is the wrong door. This guide explains what Cyprus actually licenses, why the casino ban exists, what a Class B betting licence costs, and which operators should consider it.
Key facts (verify current rules with the NBA)
- Regulator: the National Betting Authority (NBA / Ethniki Archi Stichimaton), an EU member-state authority, under the Betting Law of 2019 (Law 37(I)/2019).
- What it licenses: Class A for land-based betting premises and Class B for online/electronic betting. Sports and event betting only.
- No online casino: games of chance (slots, roulette, casino, online poker, lottery) are prohibited online. Only one land-based casino resort operates, under a separate law.
- Class B fee: reported at EUR 30,000 for one year and EUR 45,000 for two years.
- Betting tax: commonly cited at a combined ~13% (a 10% betting tax plus a ~3% contribution), on net betting revenue.
- Financial bar: paid-up share capital reported around EUR 500,000 and a bank guarantee around EUR 550,000.
This is editorial guidance, not legal advice; confirm current rules with the regulator and a licensed gaming lawyer.
Can you get an online casino licence in Cyprus?
No. This is the one thing every operator researching Cyprus needs to internalise: the country does not issue online casino licences, and no fee, no lawyer, and no corporate structure changes that. Cypriot law draws a hard line between betting, which is regulated and licensable, and online games of chance, which are simply prohibited. An operator who wants to run slots and casino tables online cannot do it from a Cyprus licence, because that licence does not exist in the statute.
What Cyprus does license is betting. If your product is a sportsbook, an online Class B licence is a real, EU-based option worth understanding. If your product is a casino, treat Cyprus as a corporate base at most and hold your gaming licence elsewhere, which is exactly what many groups domiciled on the island already do.
The National Betting Authority (NBA) and what it licenses
The NBA is the statutory regulator for betting in the Republic of Cyprus, established under the Betting Law of 2019 (Law 37(I)/2019), which tightened the earlier 2012 framework. It is a public-law authority that licenses, supervises, and enforces betting activity, including blocking unlicensed sites. Its remit is betting, not gaming, and that distinction defines everything downstream.
The NBA issues two licence classes. A Class A licence authorises land-based betting, meaning physical bookmaker premises inside Cyprus. A Class B licence authorises online, or electronic, betting, and it is the one that matters to a remote operator. Both are betting licences: they permit fixed-odds wagering on sports and events, and nothing beyond that. The Class B licence does not cover casino, poker, bingo, or lottery. Worth flagging as a quirk, online betting on horse racing has historically sat outside the standard permission and been handled separately, so verify how your event catalogue maps to the licence.
Why online casino games are prohibited (and the one land-based exception)
Online casino is banned in Cyprus as a matter of policy, not oversight. The legislature chose to regulate betting while keeping games of chance out of the online market, and the NBA treats any online casino offered to Cypriot players as illegal gambling, with site-blocking and penalties behind it. There is no online casino category waiting to be opened; the prohibition is the design.
The single exception lives entirely on land. Cyprus awarded one integrated casino resort licence under a separate statute built around Law 124(I)/2015, held by the operator of City of Dreams Mediterranean in Limassol, which opened in 2023 alongside a set of smaller satellite casinos. That operation is overseen by its own dedicated casino regulator, distinct from the NBA, and was granted as an exclusive arrangement. The takeaway for a remote operator is blunt: this is a physical, single-holder resort licence with no online component and no route to apply. Cyprus has exactly one casino, it is a building, and it is spoken for.
How to get a Class B online betting licence
If a sportsbook is what you are launching, the Class B path is a genuine EU-domiciled licence, and the process is documentation-heavy in the way you would expect from a member-state regulator. Confirm each step against current NBA rules.
First, incorporate a Cyprus company (a private company limited by shares) with betting as its principal activity, or establish an equivalent local presence the NBA will recognise. Second, meet the financial thresholds: sources report a minimum paid-up share capital around EUR 500,000 and a bank guarantee of roughly EUR 550,000 from an EU bank, with a mechanism to increase it against turnover. Third, satisfy the fit-and-proper and operational requirements: named responsible persons, AML and KYC controls, technical systems the NBA can audit, and infrastructure such as a backup server located in Cyprus and cashless, electronic-only settlement of bets. Fourth, submit the application with the licence fee, and once granted, operate under ongoing NBA supervision.
None of this is exotic, but the capital and guarantee bar is real money that offshore betting jurisdictions do not ask for. Our licensing guide sets the Cyprus route against the wider jurisdiction roster so you can see where that bar sits.
Cost breakdown
The Class B licence fee is reported at EUR 30,000 for a one-year licence and EUR 45,000 for a two-year licence, so the two-year option is the cheaper annualised choice for an operator planning to stay. That fee is modest next to the standing financial requirements: paid-up share capital reported around EUR 500,000 and a bank guarantee around EUR 550,000 that must remain in place. Those two figures, not the licence fee, are what make Cyprus a serious commitment rather than a cheap flag.
On top of that, model the running costs: a local company and governance, the compliance function the NBA expects, in-country technical infrastructure, and the betting tax covered below. Our white-label casino cost breakdown frames those overheads against platform spend, and the break-even calculator shows whether your projected betting margin clears a fixed cost base this size. Treat every figure here as an anchor to verify with the NBA, since fees and guarantees are set in regulation and get amended.
Which markets and products it covers
A Class B licence covers online sports and event betting, and that is the whole product scope. It does not authorise casino, live casino, poker, bingo, or lottery, so a Cyprus licence can only ever sit under a betting product, never a gaming one. If you were hoping to bolt a casino tab onto a Cyprus-licensed sportsbook, that is exactly what the licence forbids.
On geography, the Class B licence is a Cyprus national authorisation for the regulated Cyprus market, not an EU passport. Being licensed in one member state does not let you take regulated bets across the bloc, because online gambling is regulated country by country. Cyprus gives you a legitimate EU-based betting licence and a credible home for a sportsbook business; it does not hand you Germany, Spain, or Italy, each of which runs its own local regime. Model your target countries individually, the same discipline our Curaçao vs MGA comparison applies to the offshore-versus-EU decision.
Taxes and compliance
Cyprus taxes betting on the operator’s net proceeds, with the headline rate commonly cited at a combined figure around 13%: a 10% betting tax payable to the state plus a further contribution of roughly 3%, levied on net betting revenue (stakes less winnings paid out). Confirm the exact base and rate with the NBA and a Cyprus tax adviser before modelling, because how the tax is defined matters as much as the percentage.
Separately, Cyprus is attractive as a corporate base thanks to a low headline corporate income tax, historically 12.5%, part of why iGaming groups domicile on the island even when their gaming licence sits in Malta or elsewhere. Do not confuse the two: the corporate tax is a company-level advantage, while the 13%-ish betting tax is what a licensed Cyprus sportsbook pays on its betting revenue. On compliance, the NBA expects AML and KYC controls, responsible-gambling measures, auditable technical systems, and regular reporting, the machinery our compliance stack guide details for any regulated build.
Pros and cons ⚠️
The trade is EU-domiciled betting legitimacy and a low corporate-tax base against a narrow product scope and a high capital bar.
Pros. A real EU member-state betting licence, useful for a sportsbook that wants European standing without Malta’s full weight. A low corporate income tax that makes Cyprus a genuine holding and operating base. A clear, enforced regulator in the NBA, which raises the credibility of a compliant licensee.
Cons ⚠️. No online casino, full stop, which rules Cyprus out for the majority of operators whose core product is gaming. A narrow scope, with casino, poker, and lottery all excluded. A high fixed-cost floor, with roughly EUR 500,000 share capital and a ~EUR 550,000 bank guarantee before you write a line of code. And no EU passport, so market access still has to be built country by country.
Cyprus vs Malta vs other EU routes
Choose by product first, because for most operators the product decides the country. If you are building an online casino, Cyprus is simply not eligible, and the EU routes that are include Malta and Estonia. Malta’s MGA is the EU gold standard, licensing casino and sportsbook together under one framework with the strongest banking weight, at the highest cost and longest timeline; our Malta casino license page covers it in full. Estonia is the leaner EU alternative that does license online casino, a middle option between offshore speed and Malta’s premium, detailed on our Estonia casino license page.
Cyprus only enters the conversation when your product is a sportsbook and you want an EU-domiciled betting licence with a low corporate-tax base behind it. Even then, weigh the EUR 500,000-plus capital and guarantee against what a betting-only Malta Type 2 licence, or a faster offshore sportsbook licence, would cost for comparable access. For a casino-led group, the common pattern is to hold the gaming licence in Malta and use Cyprus purely as a corporate seat.
Platforms for a Cyprus (betting) operation
Because a Cyprus licence is betting only, the platform decision is a sportsbook decision, and you want a provider whose core strength is the book rather than a casino aggregator with betting bolted on. Several providers in our ranking fit that profile. Sirplay is a sportsbook-first platform, which maps cleanly onto a betting-only licence like Cyprus. BetConstruct carries one of the strongest sportsbooks in the field, with deep pre-match and in-play coverage suited to a serious book. Digitain is a betting-led provider with a broad sports and events catalogue and a European compliance track record. GR8 Tech is another sportsbook-strong platform built for high-volume betting operations.
Match the provider to your sports catalogue, your target market, and the NBA’s technical requirements rather than to a generic feature list. Compare the full field on the comparison page, and see how we weigh sportsbook depth and licensing footprint in our methodology.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get an online casino licence in Cyprus?
No. Cyprus does not license online casino gaming. The National Betting Authority issues betting licences only, and online games of chance such as slots, roulette, and casino tables are prohibited. If you need an online casino licence, look to Malta, Estonia, or another jurisdiction that licenses casino, and treat Cyprus at most as a corporate base.
What does the National Betting Authority actually license?
The National Betting Authority issues Class A licences for land-based betting premises and Class B licences for online, or electronic, betting. Both cover sports and event betting only. No class of NBA licence covers online casino, poker, bingo, or lottery.
How much does a Cyprus Class B betting licence cost?
The Class B licence fee is reported at EUR 30,000 for one year and EUR 45,000 for two years. Beyond the fee, expect a minimum paid-up share capital reported around EUR 500,000 and a bank guarantee of roughly EUR 550,000, which together form the real cost of entry. Verify the current figures with the NBA before budgeting.
What is the betting tax in Cyprus?
The betting tax is commonly cited at a combined rate of around 13%, generally described as a 10% tax to the state plus a further contribution near 3%, applied to net betting revenue. Confirm the exact base and rate with the NBA and a Cyprus tax adviser, since how the taxable amount is defined affects your model as much as the percentage.
Why is there a casino in Cyprus if online casino is banned?
Cyprus permits exactly one land-based integrated casino resort, City of Dreams Mediterranean in Limassol, licensed under a separate casino law and overseen by its own dedicated regulator, not the NBA. It is a single-holder resort licence with satellite venues and no online component, and it opens no route to an online casino licence.
Is Cyprus a good jurisdiction for a sportsbook?
It can be, if you want an EU member-state betting licence and value Cyprus as a low corporate-tax base. The trade-offs are a narrow betting-only scope and a high capital and guarantee bar. For a casino-led operator it is the wrong jurisdiction; for a sportsbook comparing EU homes, it is a legitimate option to weigh against a Malta betting licence.
Related
- Licensing guide: the full jurisdiction roster and how to verify a provider’s licence
- Malta casino license and Estonia casino license: the EU routes that do license online casino
- Curaçao casino license and Curaçao vs MGA: the offshore-versus-EU comparison
- Compliance stack: the AML, KYC, and reporting machinery a regulated licence expects
- White-label casino cost and break-even calculator: modelling a fixed cost base this size
- Comparison and methodology: the full provider field and how we score sportsbook depth and licensing
This is editorial guidance, not legal advice; confirm current rules with the regulator and a licensed gaming lawyer. This site may earn referral commissions from provider links, disclosed transparently per FTC guidelines. No providers paid for placement or ranking.