A proposal to open a second casino in Nicosia was raised during a parliamentary committee debate on the budget of the Games and Casinos Supervision Authority, amid concerns about competition from casinos in the Turkish‑controlled north, local media reported Tuesday.
Fileleftheros said Pieris Huridis, chair of the authority’s board, told lawmakers that the only casino operating in south Nicosia is a small branch‑level venue with limited space, making it difficult to compete with casinos in the north.
He said the north currently has 30 casinos and claimed another 30 are expected to open in the next three years.
Huridis said the Nicosia branch is too small to attract customers and should be expanded.
He added that the main clientele for casinos in the Republic of Cyprus comes from Israel, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and within Cyprus.
Politis reported that, in addition to enlarging the existing branch, officials are also considering opening a full‑scale casino in south Nicosia.
The paper also said the main casino in Limassol has not met expectations and identified its strongest customer bases as Israel, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece and Armenia.
