Filenews 13 October 2025 - by Michalis Chatzivasilis
Gambling addiction as well as other scientifically documented disorders related to electronic games will now be included in the responsibilities of the Cyprus Addictions Authority.
This is provided for by a bill sent to the Parliament under the name of the Prevention and Dissemination of the Use and Dissemination of Narcotic Drugs and Other Addictive Substances (Cyprus Addictions Authority AAEK) (Amendment) Law of 164 (I) of 2017-2025. According to the bill, "addiction" will now mean any persistent and repeated maladaptive behavior related to the use of legal and illegal addictive substances, pathological gambling involvement, electronic gaming disorder and other scientifically documented internet-related disorders, which takes the form of an almost ritualistic, automated habit, which the individual, while acknowledging that it has harmful and/or negative effects, such as abandonment or reduction of social, professional or recreational activities, is unable to control and terminate due to very strong physiological, psychological and social factors;
Also, the term "treatment" is amended and will now include any interventions aimed at improving the psychological, physical or social condition of a person affected by the use of legal or illegal addictive substances, as well as a person affected by pathological gambling, electronic gaming disorder or other scientifically documented internet-related disorders.
Furthermore, "intervention" will mean systematic and structured long-term measures with specific targets related to legal and illegal addictive substances, pathological gambling and gambling disorder or other scientifically documented disorders internet-related. It collects, processes, studies and evaluates information, data and data in relation to substance use, gambling, online gambling disorder and other scientifically documented internet-related disorders in the Republic.
Also, the same bill redefines that the term of office of the President, the Vice-President and the members of the Cyprus Addictions Authority is five years: It is understood that the term of office of the President, the Vice-President and the members of the Authority will not exceed two terms, consecutive or not. Also, the members of the Authority from five become six.
It is noted that at the moment the Authority does not have treatment programs for gambling, while in Paphos the "Kitro" Counselling and Therapy Center has been operating for a year, which has tripled the number of people who have sought help for gambling addiction. Other treatment units have also included programs for gambling addiction.
6.6% of students bet
As far as students in Cyprus are concerned, they seem to bet money, much more than European students. It appears that 6.6% of students have problem gambling (compared to 5% of European students).
Based on the treatment application index of the monitoring department of the Addictions Treatment Authority:
• About 7 out of 10 sought treatment for the first time.
• The time between the start of gambling and the user's first appearance in the treatment system is on average for each type of game the following:
| Scratch Card/State Lottery | 16 years |
| Number Draws (Joker, Lotto, PROTO, KINO, etc.) | 14 years |
| Tombola/Bingo | 16 years |
| ASports Betting Agency | 14 years |
| Draws | 9 years |
| Casino Games | 6 years |
| Online Sports Betting | 11 years |
| Online Gambling | 8 years |
| Horse Racing Betting | 14 years |
In other words, it seems that users who deal with casino games are led to treatment sooner and users who deal with scratch cards/state lotteries and tombola/bingo are slower.
According to a recent study prepared by the officer of the Monitoring Department of EKTEPN / AAEK Maria Savvidou, the gloomy situation that prevails in Cyprus with the addiction to gambling and electronic gambling is recorded. As mentioned, through a brief depiction of the situation based on surveys conducted by AAEK and the report mainly concerning the Epidemiological Index of Treatment Requests, 10 main conclusions emerge from the monitoring of the phenomenon:
1. The percentage of the general population that has engaged in betting in the last 12 months amounts to 23%, while intensive gambling involvement, online and offline, (2-3 times a week), was reported by 3% of the population (AAEK, 2023).
2. The most popular game among the general population is the lottery, joker category (AAEK, 2019).
3. It was estimated that about 4% of the population has a problematic engagement with gambling, while among students this percentage amounts to 6.6% (AAEK, 2023; ESPAD Group 2020).
4. Student engagement rates both online (22%) and offline (27%) are well above the survey average (ESPAD Group 2020).
5. The most popular game among people who have sought treatment is betting on a sports agency.
6. Users who deal with casino games are led to treatment sooner and users who deal with scratch cards/state lotteries and tombola/bingo are led to treatment later.
7. The profile of the user in treatment is: Male, 34 years old, Cypriot, with a high level of education and stable employment.
8. About one in three people who were in treatment due to pathological gambling experience depression, anxiety and other mental disorders
9. The most serious problems reported by the people who were in treatment were financial problems, mental health problems, family problems while a significant percentage reported suicidal thoughts (20%).
10. A high percentage (35%) show premature abandonment and discontinuation of treatment.
According to Ms. Savvidou's study, the highest rates of gambling addiction were found among young men aged 25-34, who live in refugee settlements in rural areas. The most popular game is the lottery category, joker.
Almost nine out of ten bettors are involved in this category of games. Almost half (46.2%) deal with the lottery/joker once a month and the rest (42.1%) do it more often. Two out of ten are involved in betting on animal sports/competitions, while gambling and card / dice games are less common (11.5% and 12.3% respectively).
Using the "lie/bet questionnaire", it was estimated that about 4% of the population has a problematic engagement with betting (AAEK, 2023). Also, using the Problem Gambling Screening Index (PGSI), in order to distinguish cases of problematic gambling involvement, it was estimated that about 2% of the population are low-risk gamblers, 2% moderate risk gamblers and 1% pathological or problem gamblers (AAEK, 2023).
