Official language: Greek, Turkish
Population: 801,600
Currency: Euro (EUR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 GBP = 1.0681 EUR
1 USD = 0.6754 EUR

Sports Betting in Cyprus
Sports betting in Cyprus, like most other forms of gambling, is a popular pastime. The recent history of betting shops and sports betting in general is bumpy. Sports betting in Cyprus is legal. The most popular event to wager on is horse races, but until 2006, all horse betting was controlled by the Nicosia Race Club. Since then, the law has broadened, and horse races and sports betting in general has opened up. These laws, though, were drafted by legal advisers of Ladbrokes, a UK sportsbook company that runs many shops in Cyprus. The laws are nonetheless mostly fair, and now betting shops can be found all over Cyprus.

Today, the problem with sportsbooks in Cyprus is taxes. A 25% tax is payed on all fixed bets upfront, win or lose. For horse races, the tax is a bit lower, but at 10% it's still high. This high tax on sports bets in Cyprus pushes many players to either gamble with illegal bookmakers, or to rely on internet sportsbooks.

Online Sports Betting in Cyprus
Online sportsbooks are a popular way for players in Cyprus to avoid the high taxes levied at land-based betting shops. While the government in Cyprus gives licenses to companies to run internet sportsbooks and other online gambling sites, these licenses go to foreign operators who run large international sites. Players in Cyprus who want to bet on sports with online bookmakers usually have to signup with international sportsbooks hosted in other countries. A number of sportsbooks offer their services in Greek and/or Turkish, and accept Cypriot players.