Law to allow Turkish Cypriots with dual nationalities to enter casino is been muted by north Cyprus authorities

According to a new bill on the agenda of the relevant committee in the TRNC parliament, TRNC citizens will now be able to visit the Casino and gamble legally if they have dual citizenship, over 25 years of age and not a student.

According to Kıbrıs Postası who obtained the information and confirmed by sources in the relevant Parliament committee, a formula has been found so that TRNC citizens can now legally enter casinos.

Accordingly, first of all, you must be over 25 years old and prove that you are not a student. In addition, you must have a second nationality.

For example, if you have a Republic of Cyprus passport or Turkish ID, you will be considered "dual national" and thus, entry to casinos in TRNC will be free.

It is stated that there is no final result or consensus on the initiative discussed in the Parliamentary Committee yet.

If the new formula is implemented, it will not be a problem for TRNC residents to enter the casino, because a significant portion of the population has either a Republic of Cyprus passport or a Turkish ID card.

Observers interested in the issue have many concerns about this development.

Only one of them is about how to put forward the requirement of being over the age of 25 and not being a student.

Because there is no document stating "I am not a student"... In this case, it is still unclear whether a tax declaration-based "membership system " will come to the fore.

Citizens are actually using casinos illegally, unless they have already entered the "prohibited list" through notification by their spouses or children/close relatives; Inspections are actually carried out on this issue, but they do not actually produce results. 

On the other hand, there have been various discussions on this issue for years. At the very beginning, the concept that casinos were only investments for tourism in the TRNC was gradually evolved  to the question "why can't Cypriots enter as well?"

Casino owners and relevant lobby groups have been wanting TRNC Cypriots to be able to enter casinos for years, and they argue that there is nothing to worry about, that a system can be established, and that this ban even causes people to turn to Southern Cyprus and cause market loss .

It is stated that there is no consensus on this issue yet between the relevant Ministries of Finance and Tourism. However, if the practice becomes legal and implemented, this debate will disappear and Cypriots in TRNC will be able to use casinos easily.

With the implementation, it is expected that there will be an increase in applications for Turkish ID or Republic of Cyprus passport.

It is also a matter of curiosity how the political establishment will take a position on the proposal submitted to the committee and how civil society will react.

Kibris postasi