A recent legal overhaul in the breakaway northern part of Cyprus is expected to at least double the number of casinos in the territory—an area of just about 3,300 square kilometers—raising fresh concerns about money laundering risks in an already loosely regulated gambling hub.
The self-declared “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”—recognized only by Turkey—has become a magnet for fugitives and illicit funds, operating outside international legal and banking standards. It has also emerged as a gambling hotspot, especially after Turkey banned casinos in the late 1990s.
There are currently 33 active casinos in the northern part and under the new legal amendments that took effect last month, that number is expected to jump to 65. The changes lifted a cap on casino licenses and automatically granted licenses to five-star hotels and holiday villages with at least 500 beds, provided their projects had been approved by the Tourism Planning Department before the amendments went into effect.
According to a list obtained exclusively by the investigative outlet CIReN, there are 32 such approved establishments, which means that the casino count could nearly double once those projects are completed. While the new law raises the required bed capacity for future applicants to 750, it also removes or relaxes several restrictions.
Licensing is a two-step process: authorities first issue preliminary permits, which can later be converted into full licenses. Previously not more than five casinos could hold preliminary permits at any given time but now that cap has been lifted.
Casinos are now allowed in city centers, and the minimum required distance from schools has been reduced from 500 meters to 100 meters.
Penalties have also been lowered. Allowing Turkish Cypriot citizens and students to enter casinos is no longer punishable by up to two years in prison and a €5,000 ($5,848) fine. Instead, casino operators now face a €1,000 ($1,169) fine, while customers face only a €50 ($58,47) fine—down from a two-year prison sentence and €1,000.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island’s north following a coup by Greek nationalists seeking unification with Greece. Today, the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus controls the south, while the north remains under Turkish control with thousands of troops stationed there. U.N. peacekeepers have monitored the buffer zone between the two sides for decades.
According to the U.S. State Department’s 2025 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, the north lacks adequate legal and institutional safeguards for combating money laundering and terrorism financing. The report describes the casino sector as a “significant concern,” and highlights real estate, car dealerships and unregulated virtual currency exchanges as other high-risk areas.
