A guest heading down to the casino floor of a hotel in Kyrenia (Girne) stops at the reception desk before ever reaching a table. The attendant takes their ID, enters the details into a computer — and remember, that record isn't deleted for a long time. This step isn't the hotel's own preference; it's a requirement of Article 15 of the Games of Chance Law. The law is numbered 31/2009, its latest amendment is 26/2025 dated 2025, and that amendment rewrote this article too. The casino rules of Cyprus largely derive from here; the age, residency, student and ID requirements are all written into the same article.
Who Article 15 Lets In
Article 15(1) names two groups: TRNC citizens whose residence is outside the TRNC (North Cyprus), and foreigners who are not TRNC citizens. The same two conditions apply to both: being at least 25 years old, and not studying in the TRNC. A tourist from Turkey falls into the second group — if they've turned 25 and aren't studying on the island, they can be admitted. A TRNC citizen resident on the island, however, cannot enter no matter their age, while a TRNC citizen residing in Turkey falls outside this ban. There's no separate document to apply for either; the attendant checks the residence record.
What about foreigners working on the island? The ban also covers only studying in the TRNC. A foreigner working on the island who is over 25 and not a student can enter under this law, while a student enrolled on the island absolutely cannot — whatever their nationality or age (there are no exceptions). The figures of 18, 21 or 24 circulating on some tour sites don't match the text in force; the law says only 25. No separate clause was written for children and babies — the 25-year requirement already keeps that group outside. Article 3(6), in listing the law's purpose, states as a goal keeping resident citizens, under-25s, students and persons in need of protection out of the gaming hall.
ID Records Are Kept for 12 Years
Two documents are accepted: an ID card or a passport. Article 15(3) requires them to be presented at entry, while 15(4) requires that the record entered into the computer not be destroyed for 12 years. When a Ministry official arrives for an inspection and asks for the records, the operator is obliged to produce them. Article 15(6) places on the operator the duty to keep a reception at the main entrance, to install a camera- or computer-assisted system for customer registration, and to retain camera footage for at least 15 days for use in complaints. Within the casino rules of Cyprus, the step a guest deals with directly is this registration; the rest — camera retention, inspection ledgers — is the operator's business.
Police powers inside the hall are limited by the same article: without a criminal incident or a prosecutor's order, police may observe inside only in plain clothes. Article 15(5) gives the operator the authority to refuse entry to, or remove, anyone excessively drunk or otherwise deemed objectionable. That's why a guest who leaves their ID in the hotel room gets no further than the reception desk.
Promissory Notes Are Banned for Buying Chips
Cash cannot be withdrawn inside the hall — Article 14(3) keeps ATM machines outside. Gaming chips may be bought with cash, credit card, debit card, cheque, or a bank transfer from the player's own account. Selling chips against a promissory note is banned by the same article; signing an IOU for chips on credit is not possible in TRNC halls. Together, the two rules push cash withdrawal well away from the gaming table. If you have neither card nor cash on you, there's no other way to buy chips.
Opening Hours Are Free — a Psychologist Is Mandatory
What time do the halls close? The law doesn't decide that; Article 23(1) leaves the decision to the operator and requires the hours to be posted on a sign. Large properties are reported to be effectively open around the clock, though it wouldn't be right to generalise that to every hall. Under the lesser-known fifth paragraph of the same article, if a playing customer requests it — or a need is seen — the hall is obliged to call in a psychologist or psychiatrist it has under contract. This is the only tool the law prescribes against addiction inside the hall; setting a loss limit before sitting down is the guest's own job, and the hall won't ask.
For someone wanting to have themselves barred from entry, there is no official application route; the TRNC Casino Operators Association runs a list system that works through family referral. A family member who reports a relative's gambling problem can, after a review, have their entry blocked.
The Penalty Schedule Runs in Euros
The word "Ministry" in the law's definitions article means the Ministry responsible for Finance, where inspection authority is concentrated. The Tourism Ministry comes into play at a single stage: under Article 24(2), the two ministries jointly decide on the suitability of premises to be used as a gaming hall. Finance inspectors can, when necessary, have every room opened — camera rooms included — and the operator is obliged to keep books under the Tax Procedure Law.
Article 37 sets out in two paragraphs who pays what when the casino rules of Cyprus are broken. A person who gets inside past the age or residency requirement pays 50 Euro if identified by police, while the operation that turned a blind eye is fined 1,000 Euro per inspection. An operator failing its general obligations — chip sales, record keeping, entry checks or opening hours — faces a separate penalty of 5,000 Euro. The same law also restricts advertising: under Article 27, apart from a limited signage exception, no announcements or promotion may be made outside the hall.
| Rule | Basis | Application |
|---|---|---|
| Age limit | Article 15(1) | No entry under 25 |
| Residency requirement | Article 15(1)(A) | Only citizens residing outside the TRNC may enter |
| Student ban | Article 15(1) | Anyone studying in the TRNC barred, regardless of age or nationality |
| ID registration | Article 15(3)-(4) | ID card or passport mandatory; record kept for 12 years |
| Entry control | Article 15(6) | Reception, camera/computer registration, footage kept at least 15 days |
| ATM | Article 14(3) | Not allowed inside the hall |
| Chip payment | Article 14(4) | Cash, card, cheque, bank transfer accepted; promissory notes banned |
| Opening hours | Article 23(1) | No legal limit; operator sets and posts them |
| Psychologist/psychiatrist | Article 23(5) | Must be called on request or when needed |
| Oversight | Article 2, Article 24(2) | Finance Ministry; premises approval jointly with Tourism Ministry |
| Penalty (individual) | Article 37(2) | 50 Euro |
| Penalty (operator, entry violation) | Article 37(2) | 1,000 Euro per inspection |
| Penalty (operator, general obligations) | Article 37(1) | 5,000 Euro |
| Dress / photography / smoking | House rule | No clause in the law; varies hotel to hotel |
Dress Code and Smoking Are Set by the Hotel
Within the casino rules of Cyprus there's one more layer that doesn't come from the law — each hotel writes it for itself. On dress there isn't a single line in the legislation: halls expect a clean, presentable casual look, and a guest arriving in shorts or flip-flops is turned away at most properties. Taking photos and making video calls in the gaming area is also banned in most halls, the core reasoning being other guests' privacy and the security risks it can create. These rules have no counterpart or penalty clause in the law; enforcement belongs to the operator.
On smoking, there's no equivalent of Turkey's indoor ban visible in TRNC halls; according to information resting on a single source, smoking is allowed across the gaming floor in most halls, with designated areas at some properties. Chains like Merit run a player-card system and ticket-in/ticket-out on the slots side, and card records are reported to be shared across the group's hotels. Entry is free — beyond an ID, nothing is required to step onto the floor.
