Filenews 20 January 2026 - by Eleftheria Paizanou
Raids on betting agencies are carried out by "undercover" agents to determine whether the owners and employees of the premises comply with the law. Specifically, the National Betting Authority (NBA) has proceeded with the purchase of services from the private sector and 150 "secret" agents, pretending to be customers, go to the agencies and carry out audits.
While staying in the agencies, the "undercover" agents closely monitor the actions of the employees, check whether illegal bets are being played and whether there are minors in the agencies. In addition to the sudden secret checks, EAS officials carry out on-the-spot checks at the agencies and at the same time check the websites through which hundreds of players play various games.
Officials of the Authority also carry out checks on betting companies for any money laundering. The above was revealed yesterday to the parliamentary Finance Committee, which examined the budget of the National Betting Authority for 2026.
According to a representative of the EAS, last year the Authority imposed fines of €46,000 to betting agencies, of which €26,000 concerned non-compliance with the provisions of the law related to the issuance of the required permits, while the rest of the revenues concerned the presence of minors in the premises and other violations of the law.
€1.3 billion of bets were played.
Last year, according to data submitted to the Parliament, an amount of €1.3 billion was played in bets, with players earning €1.17 billion from their betting activity. It is worth noting that due to the increase in the betting tax, the state collected €6 million up from €3.2 mil. the previous year.
In the context of the discussion, it was mentioned that for a year now, a draft of the bill has been before the Ministry of Finance, which includes new products and services, as well as provisions for safe play and for the protection of minors. It was also mentioned by the spokesman of the Ministry of Finance that there are no thoughts of providing online casino games.
At €71 million the revenues of the EAS
This year, EAS is expected to have revenues of €71.85 million, which are increased by 28.03% or €15.73 million, compared to 2025.
In the years 2027-2028, revenues are projected to increase further and reach €75.27 million. and €78.59 million. respectively.
In detail, the tax from the betting activity is €53 million, the license fee is €8.2 million, the betting activity contribution is €10 million. The tax paid by licensed Class A and B recipients is 10% of net betting earnings. Class A recipients are land-based betting while Class B recipients are online betting.
Provision of €32 million concerns the betting tax on the gross winnings of OPAP Cyprus, based on the new contract. From the granting of licenses to Class A and B recipients, authorized representatives and premises, the state will have revenues of €2.8 million. In addition, €5 million. concern the license fee and €0.4 million. the supervision contribution of OPAP Cyprus, based on the new contract.
