Cyprus Class B Online Betting License
Cyprus Class B online betting rules, fees, tax, capital, guarantee, local technical requirements, and the legal boundary excluding online casino games.
Content updated · Research checked
Cyprus does not offer a Class B online casino license. The National Betting Authority's Class B route covers electronic betting and expressly excludes slot machines, online casino games, and electronic horse-racing betting. The law also prohibits online casino services, betting exchanges, and spread bets. A foreign gambling license or a Cyprus company does not change that product boundary.
The Class B fee is EUR 30,000 for one year or EUR 45,000 for two years. The operator also needs at least EUR 500,000 in paid-up share capital, a EUR 550,000 bank guarantee that may be increased based on turnover, a Cyprus backup server, a .com.cy service domain, and protected client funds. Betting tax is 10 percent of net betting revenue plus a 3 percent contribution. No standard end-to-end approval time applies.
License facts: National Betting Authority (NBA)
- Cost boundary
- The regulatory fee is EUR 30,000 for a one-year Class A or B bookmaker's license and EUR 45,000 for a two-year license. The same fees apply to issuance and renewal. The fee is paid with the application; if the application is rejected, it is refunded less 25 percent. The applicant must also have at least EUR 500,000 in issued and paid-up share capital and provide a EUR 550,000 bank guarantee from a credit institution, valid until six months after the requested license expires. The NBA may require the guarantee to increase up to an amount covering 10 percent of annual turnover. Capital and the guarantee are not license fees, and the full cost of legal, corporate, technical, banking, staffing, and implementation work is applicant-specific.
- Process timing
- No standard decision deadline or guaranteed end-to-end processing time applies to a Class B application. The file covers the applicant and controllers, suitability, capital, guarantee, betting business, controls, technical system, Cyprus backup server, website, player accounts, and other evidence requested by the NBA. A commercial estimate is not an NBA service level.
- Tax / revenue model
- A Class A or B bookmaker pays betting tax equal to 10 percent of net betting revenue for each monthly accounting period and a separate 3 percent contribution. The contribution is split between sports funding and safer-gambling purposes. The statutory net-revenue calculation is amounts paid in relation to bets minus winnings, subject to the detailed rules for credits, offers, and player amounts. Tax and contribution are due by the end of the following calendar month. The Cyprus Tax Department's current table states a 15 percent corporate income tax rate from 2026, up from 12.5 percent through 2025. Corporate tax is separate from betting tax and depends on the taxpayer's actual income and residence facts.
- Applicant / local requirements
- The applicant must be a company limited by shares incorporated in Cyprus or a company incorporated outside Cyprus that complies with Part VIII of the Companies Law. Its main activity must be managing bets, and issued and paid-up share capital must be at least EUR 500,000. A Class B applicant must install a backup server in Cyprus, connected in parallel to the main server, for the data and support system specified by the NBA. The licensed service may be offered only through specialized Internet addresses ending in .com.cy. Player money must be held separately in a special client account at a credit institution and fully backed against player-account balances. The account does not have to be held at a Cypriot bank in every case.
- Term / continuation
- A Class A or B bookmaker's license is valid for the selected one- or two-year term, and renewal uses the same EUR 30,000 or EUR 45,000 fee schedule. The EUR 550,000 guarantee must remain valid until six months after the requested license term ends and may be increased based on turnover. Renewal does not remove the capital, client-funds, reporting, tax, contribution, .com.cy, technical, player-protection, or backup-server obligations.
Cyprus's 2026 tax reform raised the corporate income tax rate from 12.5 percent to 15 percent from January 1, 2026. The gambling product boundary did not become a casino route: the current NBA register continues to identify Class B bookmakers and their .com.cy domains, while the Betting Law still excludes and separately criminalizes online casino services. Product, entity, domain, and license-register checks should be repeated before launch or renewal.
Licensing decision matrix
Cyprus Class B is an electronic betting route, not an online casino license. Product exclusions, the applicant company, guarantee, client funds, .com.cy domain, and Cyprus backup server are hard launch boundaries.
Definedfixed by the route or ruleScope-specificchanges with the entity, product, or approvalUnresolvedno dependable rule or figure yet
- Applicant route Defined
- Class B covers electronic betting. It excludes slots, online casino games, electronic horse-racing betting, betting exchanges, and spread bets.
- Applicant entity Defined
- A Cyprus company limited by shares or a qualifying foreign company complying with Part VIII of the Companies Law may apply. Managing bets must be its main activity.
- Local presence Defined
- The operator needs a Cyprus backup server and specialized .com.cy service domains. Player money sits in a separate client account at a credit institution.
- Key people Scope-specific
- The applicant, controllers, management, ownership, and people responsible for the betting business enter suitability review. The exact scope follows the structure.
- Technical approval Defined
- The betting system, parallel backup server, website, player accounts, security, and controls must meet NBA requirements and the approved application file.
- Tax or revenue base Defined
- Betting tax is 10% of monthly net betting revenue, plus a separate 3% contribution. Corporate income tax is 15% from 2026 on its separate base.
- Ongoing duties Defined
- Monthly tax and contribution, capital, guarantee, client-fund coverage, reporting, domain, server, technical, and player-protection controls continue through the term.
- Approval timing Unresolved
- The framework sets no standard NBA decision time or guaranteed end-to-end processing period.
- Fees and cost Defined
- Class B costs EUR 30,000 for one year or EUR 45,000 for two years. It also requires EUR 500,000 paid-up capital and at least a EUR 550,000 bank guarantee.
Continue the decision
Move from the jurisdiction record to the next operator task. These routes do not change or extend the permission described above.
Use the sports-betting licensing framework
Separate betting products, channels, operating permissions, supplier roles, integrity duties, and technical approvals.
Open resourceContinue to the sportsbook launch plan
Connect betting permissions to the engine, feed, trading, wallet, integrity, testing, and operating controls.
Open resourceLooking for a licensing service provider?
This page covers the jurisdiction and regulator. A separate directory compares licensing advisors, law firms, compliance consultancies, and corporate-service groups. Inclusion is not a legal endorsement, and the directory does not replace local counsel.
Compare licensing service providersFAQ
Does Cyprus issue an online casino license?+
No. Class B authorizes electronic betting and expressly excludes slot machines, online casino games, and electronic horse-racing betting. The law separately makes providing online casino services an offense. A Cyprus company, .com.cy domain, or foreign casino license does not create a Cyprus online casino permission.
What are the official Class B fee and financial requirements?+
The license fee is EUR 30,000 for one year or EUR 45,000 for two years. Minimum issued and paid-up share capital is EUR 500,000, and the application requires a EUR 550,000 bank guarantee valid until six months after the requested term ends. The NBA may increase that guarantee up to an amount covering 10 percent of annual turnover. Capital and the guarantee are not fees.
How long does a Class B application take?+
No standard decision deadline or guaranteed end-to-end processing time applies. A commercial 60-to-90-day estimate is not an NBA service level. The real schedule depends on a complete ownership, suitability, financial, guarantee, control, technical, server, website, and player-protection file.
Can a foreign company apply?+
The law permits a company limited by shares incorporated in Cyprus or outside Cyprus if the foreign company complies with Part VIII of the Companies Law. The entity's main activity must be managing bets, and it must meet the same capital, guarantee, suitability, technical, client-funds, tax, and operating conditions. A generic offshore company does not qualify automatically.
What tax applies to a Cyprus Class B operator?+
The operator pays 10 percent of monthly net betting revenue as betting tax and a separate 3 percent contribution. Net betting revenue is calculated under the Betting Law from player amounts paid in relation to bets minus winnings, with additional statutory rules. Cyprus corporate income tax is 15 percent from 2026 and is a separate entity-level tax.
What local technical setup is required?+
A Class B applicant must install a backup server in Cyprus, connected in parallel to the main server, for the information and support system specified by the NBA. The betting service must use specialized Internet addresses ending in .com.cy. These requirements do not mean every component or the main server must be in Cyprus, but the final architecture must match NBA directives and the approved file.
Must player funds be held at a Cypriot bank?+
The Betting Law requires a special client account at a credit institution, separate from the operator's funds and backed to at least the total player-account balance. It does not impose a universal Cypriot-bank requirement. The exact institution and account documentation still need NBA acceptance for the application.
How long does the license last, and how is it renewed?+
The license runs for one or two years, based on the application. Renewal uses the same EUR 30,000 or EUR 45,000 fee schedule. The guarantee must extend six months beyond the license term, and the operator must continue meeting the capital, client-funds, tax, reporting, domain, server, and player-protection requirements.
Does an MGA or another foreign license cover Cyprus?+
No. A foreign license does not replace the Cyprus Class B license for Cyprus-facing electronic betting, and it cannot legalize online casino activity that Cyprus prohibits. Verify the exact Class B entity and .com.cy domain in the NBA register before treating a brand as licensed.