Casinos in North Cyprus: law, age limit and supervision

Age limit and who may enter a casino

According to Article 15 of the Şans Oyunları Yasası (Law 31/2009), in the consolidated text published on the TRNC legislation database, only two groups may enter a casino (Şans Oyunu Salonu) and play: TRNC citizens whose residence is not in the TRNC, and foreigners who are not TRNC citizens. Both must have **completed 25 years of age** and must not be studying in the TRNC.

The same article states that everyone outside these groups may not enter, and Article 3 lists keeping TRNC citizens, persons under 25, students and persons in need of protection out of casinos among the purposes of the law. Article 15 also requires an identity document at the door and computer registration of each customer.

Under Article 37 of the law, police may issue an administrative fine of €50 to a person who enters unlawfully and of €1,000 per inspection to the operator that allowed it. Cyprus Mail reported on 3 June 2025 that the amendment downgraded the entry ban to a civil offence, and OCCRP reported in July 2025 that customers previously faced up to 2 years in prison.

The law and the supervising authority

According to the consolidated text on the TRNC legislation database, the Şans Oyunları Yasası was adopted unanimously by the Assembly of the Republic on 2 March 2009 and published in the Official Gazette (No. 51) on 12 March 2009. The text incorporates amending Laws 57/2011, 1/2012, 38/2015 and 26/2025, and its Article 41 repealed the earlier Bahse Tutuşma Evleri, Kumarhaneler ve Kumarı Önleme Yasası.

Article 42 of the law states that the ministry responsible for finance implements it on behalf of the Council of Ministers, and Article 2 defines a casino licence (ruhsat) as a permit granted to a company by Council of Ministers decision. Article 34 creates the Şans Oyunları Kurulu (Games of Chance Board), chaired by the Director of the Devlet Emlak ve Malzeme Dairesi (State Property and Supplies Department); Article 36 makes the Board the competent body for casino activities, answerable to the Minister of Finance.

The legislation database also lists a regulation on technical inspection, staff licences and the Board (177/2017), amended in 2025 and 2026, and the Casino İşletmecileri Birliği Yasası (Law 40/2016) on the operators' association. For general background on the TRNC, see About North Cyprus.

Licensing conditions and where casinos may be located

According to Article 6 of Law 31/2009 as amended, a preliminary casino permit requires a 5-star tourist facility with at least 750 beds, or a first-class holiday village with at least 750 beds, located at least 100 metres from schools. The project must have been approved by the Turizm Planlama Dairesi (Tourism Planning Department) and construction must actually have started; the density of existing casinos in the area is taken into account, except in the Bafra area.

A transitional article added by Law 26/2025 allowed projects with at least 500 beds that were approved before the amendment to apply within three months. OCCRP reported in July 2025 that the amendment also removed a cap of five preliminary permits at any one time, and Cyprus Mail reported that limits on proximity to town centres were removed.

Article 24 of the law states that the ministry and the ministry responsible for tourism decide whether a proposed location is suitable. Under Articles 24 and 26, a casino cannot be sold separately from its tourist facility, and its licence is cancelled if it stays closed for more than 60 days or if the hotel does not restore a lost operating certificate or classification within three months.

Licence decisions published in the Official Gazette

According to Article 2 of Law 31/2009, a casino licence is granted by Council of Ministers decision, and the Official Gazette (Resmî Gazete) publishes these decisions in Annex IV, Part I (Bakanlar Kurulu Kararları). As of 25 October 2026, the cards below list each venue whose licence grant or renewal decision was opened for this page in the Gazette PDFs on the website of the Devlet Basımevi (State Printing House), in issues from January 2024 to October 2026. Venue and company names, dates and end dates are given as the decisions state them; some decisions are scanned and were read from page images.

This is not a complete or current licence register. Decisions published before 2024 were not checked, a later decision may have renewed, frozen, transferred or cancelled a licence, and preliminary permits (ön izin), which are not licences, are left out. Decisions were also opened for Noah's Ark Casino (licence until 30 September 2026) and the Palm Beach Hotel in Gazimağusa (operating licence until 31 December 2025); their stated end dates have passed and no later decision was found in the Gazette index, so they are not listed. Ask the Ministry of Finance to confirm a venue's current status.

Members listed by the Casino Operators Association (Casino İşletmecileri Birliği)

As of 25 October 2026, the members page (Üyelerimiz) of the Casino İşletmecileri Birliği (Casino Operators Association) lists 32 casinos, each with a region: Girne, Lefkoşa, Mağusa, İskele or Bafra. The cards give each name and region exactly as the page shows them.

Membership of the association is a sector listing published by the association; it is not a licence and does not show that a venue holds a current licence. Under Law 31/2009, licences are granted by the Council of Ministers, as in the Official Gazette decisions above. The members page shows no date of last update.

Advertising, sponsorship and online gambling

According to Article 27 of Law 31/2009, casinos may not advertise, make announcements or promote themselves to the domestic market, or use the press for any purpose. The same article allows signs at the facility entrance (up to 150 cm by 100 cm) and inside, and advertisements in tourism magazines; it also bars casinos from sponsoring sports clubs or educational, health and social activities, except through the relevant ministries without public announcement.

Article 28(3) bans paid gambling over the internet, including in internet cafés, and Article 29 bans gambling anywhere other than in games regulated under this law, the Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Yasası (Physical Education and Sports Law) and the Piyangolar Yasası (Lotteries Law). Article 38 sets criminal penalties for breaches, including for advertising.

Cyprus Mail reported that during the June 2025 debate the Minister of Finance, Özdemir Berova, said casino advertising remains prohibited, while opposition CTP MPs said gambling adverts appeared at Ercan airport disguised as hotel adverts, which the energy minister denied.

Betting offices (müşterek bahis)

According to Article 4 of Law 31/2009, games of chance and pool betting regulated under the Beden Eğitimi ve Spor Yasası fall outside the casino law. The Müşterek Bahis Tüzüğü (Regulation 557/2017), made by the Council of Ministers under Article 26 of that law, sets the rules for betting houses (bahis evi) and electronic betting houses.

According to the 2017 regulation, a betting permit is granted by the Council of Ministers on the ministry's proposal, after a preliminary permit from the General Management Board of the Sports Department. Betting houses must be at least 100 metres from educational institutions and places of worship, must display a sign reading "21 yaşından küçükler giremez" (persons under that age may not enter) visible from outside, may not sell alcohol, and must be arranged so that the inside is not visible from outside.

Medyascope reported on 8 December 2025 that a Council of Ministers text on pool betting, published in the Official Gazette on 3 December 2025, would have let betting companies offer casino games online, and that the text was reported to have been removed from the Official Gazette after warnings from Ankara and public reaction.

Recent regulatory changes and reporting

Kıbrıs Postası reported on 4 April 2025 that CTP MP Salahi Şahiner said draft amendments under discussion in a parliamentary committee would ease entry for TRNC citizens and allow venues within 100 metres of schools and in town centres. Cyprus Mail reported that the Assembly passed the bill on 3 June 2025; the Finance Minister defended it as improving auditability and diversifying revenue, while CTP MPs said it would increase addiction and money-laundering risks.

OCCRP reported on 23 July 2025 that 33 casinos were active in the north, that the Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network had obtained a list of 32 approved establishments, and that the count was expected to rise to 65; it cited the 2025 US State Department narcotics control report describing the casino sector as a significant concern. Cyprus Mail had put the number at 32 in June 2025.

According to the legislation database, the Council of Ministers amended the casino inspection and staff licence regulation on 31 July 2025 (586/2025) and 19 February 2026 (181/2026). CNBC-e reported on 19 January 2026 that the Casino İşletmecileri Birliği had started a "blacklist" under which a person reported by a family member is refused entry.

Gambling harm and help information

According to the World Health Organization fact sheet on gambling dated 2 December 2024, the ICD-11 describes gambling disorder through three requirements: impaired control over gambling, increasing priority given to gambling over other interests, and continued gambling despite negative consequences. WHO says harm can also occur below clinical thresholds, for example when money is diverted from household essentials.

A peer-reviewed study by Çakıcı and colleagues in the Journal of Gambling Studies (2021) surveyed 799 adults aged 18 to 65 in North Cyprus and reported that pathological gambling doubled to 4.5% across household surveys from 2007 to 2018. Kıbrıs Postası reported on 5 June 2025 that the psychiatrist Mehmet Çakıcı criticised the lack of a dedicated treatment centre and of a national policy on gambling addiction.

WHO states that the most effective treatments are long-term cognitive behavioural therapy or motivational interviewing, and lists self-exclusion and binding time and money limits among control tools. The TRNC Ministry of Health website could not be opened for this page, so no official TRNC helpline is listed; anyone concerned can ask a doctor or the Ministry of Health about available services.