Cyprus might legalise land-based casinos

In order to try to increase fiscal revenues, some governments have decided to liberalise the online gambling market.
This has been the case in the Netherlands, as we reported in this article.
In the same vein, some politicians are considering to adopt similar reforms to increase public revenues, i.e. to legalise land-based casinos.
The Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades has recently suggested that this measure might be adopted. However, such a reform is strongly opposed by the largest landowner in Cyprus – the Orthodox Church.
There are already numerous casinos on the island.
Nevertheless, all these gaming establishments are located in the north – in the Republic that has been under the control of Turkey since the invasion of 1974.
In an interview published by Phileleftheros newspaper, Nicos Anastasiades stated that he was in favour of the construction of casinos in the southern part of the island.
In order to attract the highest possible number of investors, the president has suggested that a tax exemption on corporate profits might be introduced, subject to certain conditions.