Cyprus – ready for online gambling

 

 

Cyprus – ready for online gambling

 

 

Retail gambling regulations in Cyprus

 

 

Cypriots are known to have a passion for gambling, but the rules and regulations differ depending upon which part of the country citizens live in.

A new casino should help to drive more tourism in the country as well as stimulating spending from the locals, which is why land-based forms of gambling are considered to be legal in Cyprus, as  of March 2017. The actions promoted by the government for completely legalized and regulated domestic casinos started few years ago and are evolving. Cyprus is a country in Eastern Europe with legal gambling. There are 6 cities with gambling facilities in Cyprus which have 31 legal gambling facilities available in total. The types of gambling available in Cyprus are:

  • Casinos
  • Horseracing tracks
  • Sportsbetting

At the moment, many Cypriots gamble on the internet through sites hosted in other countries. But, are local operators ready to face the online market in Cyprus when the regulation will allow them?

 

 

Being ready for online

 

 

Online sportsbooks became regulated by the Betting Act of 2012, and as a consequence of this act, sports betting possibilities are limited to those offered by the lottery. Betting exchanges have been banned. Additionally, players in Cyprus who want to bet on sports with online bookmakers, have to sign up with international sportsbooks hosted in other countries. A number of sportsbooks offer their services in Greece and accept Cypriot players.

The real innovation lies in being able to give the player the power to decide where to bet/play and on which product. It’s about knowing what the clients prefer and using that information to inform future offers to gain their attention, trust and ultimately their loyalty. Today ’s bettors in Cyprus mainly participate in shops. However, operators must be prepared for the evolution of the market towards online in order not to lose ground against their competitors.

Retailers on Cyprus, must be prepared and start building an online ecosystem, even within their retail shops. At the same time, it is crucial to start looking at more creative ways to acquire and retain online customers. In this perspective, the creation of partnerships becomes an interesting model to follow as well as the creation of a continuous flow between the retail and the mobile offer.

The key is to have the right tools available to, first, collect the data and second, transform the raw stats into actionable information about a player. It means an operator can provide a tailor-made offer and a satisfying gaming experience, regardless of the channel that player is using to arrive at the product offering.

 

 

The importance of choosing the right partner

 

 

Another relevant strategy involves “partnership”. It plays a very important role for a brand’s credibility and for this reason it requires that particular attention is paid to who a company is buddying-up with.

In order to show off the brand – to really connect with customers and give them an experience they will love. It is not a trivial matter – if the customer feels catered for, with technology which impresses him, then you will have a better chance of retaining that customer and creating at the same time a brand ambassador. That is the perfect ideal for any partnership. That is a truly winning strategy.

A partner that would offer your players a true Omnichannel experience. For any industry, data is extremely relevant. Every retail operation, in any industry, tends to acquire as much information as possible on the end user. It is here where omnichannel operations play a crucial role. It is a mutual and symbiotic exchange of information acquired from one side, and services provided to improve the experience of the client from the other side. Thanks to this continuous exchange, operators obtain more and more information and data to be used to formulate a better quality of service and a more bespoke offering for the punters.

 

 

Be proactive not reactive

 

 

For online gambling in Cyprus, it appears that not much will change in the forthcoming years. At the moment the bettors can access most of the major bookmakers around the world and should be able to continue to do this for the foreseeable future.

Operators should be looking beyond the confines of the current situation and be farsighted. To do this, they need the adequate technology and tools, to have a deep insight into the players’ behaviour and preferences in order to always suggest games and bets they will love.

To find out more download our latest whitepaper “Focus on Cyprus gambling market”!

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