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Focus CYPRUS MARKET REPORT


although the Israeli market also plays a small part alongside European tourists. Today there are around 30 casinos in Northern Cyprus. There are also a number of new developments being built such as the Noah’s Ark Resort, in the Bafra tourism development area, whilst some existing casinos are currently being refurbished.


Robert Dijkstra (formerly) of Liberty Gaming said: “Liberty Gaming has been involved in providing the casinos with gaming products that are in-house manufactured and third party products since 1994. We supply most of the Cyprus casinos with our products and technical support. Technology is an important part of the casino market in TRNC. You can find almost most casinos supported by an online system as well as Ticket In Ticket Out and even RFID Cashless. If the political problems are resolved in Cyprus, the casinos will be a major force in the region’s tourism market. Direct international flights will provide a bigger market to the TRNC. It will be a destination for gamblers from Southern Europe and the Middle East as there is no gaming in Turkey or on the Greek Cypriot side.” It is said between 300,000 and 400,000 Greek Cypriots visit the Northern Cyprus casinos each year, with three just on the Turkish Cypriot side of the border in Nicosia that cater exclusively for the Greek Cypriot market.


In the casinos the games played are American Roulette, Black Jack, Poker and Punto Banco, with Roulette and the various versions of Poker being far away the most popular. Betting on horse racing and football is allowed in the casinos (in special sports betting areas) but many prefer to go to the betting shops which are now found throughout the TRNC.


and betting premises in a bid to encourage investment and diversify the north’s struggling tourism industry after the 1974 war. However it wasn’t until the late 1990s that Northern Cyprus casinos began to open all over the island and over the last decade the tourist economy here has become increasingly dependent on the casino sector. Hotel development slowed during the early 1990s as tourism was affected due to the Gulf War, as in the whole region. A new era for tourism and development began after 1998 coupled with the closure of casino gaming in Turkey and investment in new hotel-casino complexes increased.


In 2007 there were a total of 130 hotel complexes in Northern Cyprus of which 101 were located in the Kyrenia region. Of course when Turkey closed down its commercial casino sector in 1997 a large part of the industry there then shifted their operations and investments to Northern Cyprus. Tin the early 2000’s there was a boom in the construction sector in the northern part of the island and the number of hotel and casinos also then increased. Today the casino market is overwhelmingly composed of Turkish players (95% of the market) from mainland Turkey and Greek Cypriot players from the Republic of Cyprus,


There are five


regions in Northern Cyprus – Guzelyurt and its citrus


groves in the west, the Venetian


harbour town of


Kyrenia; the region of Iskele; the


eastern region of


Famagusta and the capital Nicosia.


The argument in TRNC is that casinos should not exist due to moral and religious grounds however they have boosted the Northern Cypriot economy tenfold in recent years. There is no doubt that without the casinos, the TRNC tourism industry would be in dire straights because of the flight embargo to the country. The casino market has quadrupled since 1997 and today the TRNC has become known as a mini Las Vegas. With that growth however the concerns over the possible social effects have also increased. Turkish Cypriot citizens and students studying in the TRNC are banned from gambling in casinos and from all other forms of gambling on the island. The casinos are licensed via the Ministry of Tourism and are mainly run by independents although two major operating companies include:


cutting-edge play mechanics keep players engaged Your


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