Crypto Casino
Torrent Gear
Regulator: National Betting Authority
The National Betting Authority (NBA) is the independent national regulator of the Republic of Cyprus responsible for licensing and overseeing the betting market (retail and online). Its task is to ensure the legality and transparency of betting, the protection of players and the interests of the state, as well as the prevention of harm from gambling. Casino games and lotteries in Cyprus are regulated by separate laws and bodies, so the NBA's mandate is focused specifically on sports betting and other events.
1) NBA mandate and key functions
Licensing of offline and online betting operators; maintaining a register of valid licenses and points of acceptance of rates.
Supervision and compliance: scheduled and unscheduled inspections, audit of reports, monitoring of technical systems.
Responsible Gaming: limits, self-exclusion tools, information campaigns, interaction with specialized NGOs.
KYC/AML control: methodological requirements for customer identification, monitoring transactions and anti-money laundering procedures.
Advertising and sponsorship: content rules, age targeting, labeling, prohibition of "teenage" aesthetics and promises of "easy money."
Fight against illegal sites: "black list" of domains, interaction with communication providers, sanctions against violators.
Market analytics: GGR/NGR data collection, trend reports, social risk assessment.
2) Area of responsibility: what is included and what is not
Includes: sports betting/events in retail and online, betting points, online platforms, affiliate networks.
Not included: casino games (including integrated resorts), lotteries - they live in their own legal regimes. This distinction eliminates conflict of norms and simplifies control.
3) Licenses and conditions of admission
Offline (retail rates)
The operator and each betting point are licensed.
Requirements: transparent ownership structure, compliance with capital/guarantees, equipped cash desks, video surveillance, availability of RG information, prohibition of admission of minors.
Online (bets via website/app)
Separate license for remote activities.
Requirements: platform certification, KYC to full-fledged game, geolocation control, storage and integrity of logs, fault tolerance plans (DR/BCP).
Common to all
Compliance Officer, RG Responsible, Trained Personnel, Insurance/Bank Guarantees, Regular Reporting and Audit.
4) Compliance: KYC/AML, data and technical standards
KYC: age, identity, address - confirmed before deposits/withdrawals; control of multi-account and change of devices.
AML: Risk Assessment Policy, Suspicious Transaction Triggers, Logging, Escalation and Reporting to Competent Authorities.
Technical requirements: secure channels, reliable telemetry of bets, backup data feeds, event registers, time recording (synchronization).
Data storage: terms and format of logs, access for checks, protection of personal data (privacy-by-design).
5) Responsible Gaming: Default Protection
Limits: for deposits, losses and session time - available to the player in the interface "one click."
Pause/self-exclusion: temporary "cooling" and long-term locks, a single register of excluded.
Transparency of products: simple descriptions of markets, honest conditions of shares without "small print," notifications about the duration of the session.
Personnel training: support scripts in cases of "dogon," signs of a problem game, routing to help.
6) Advertising and sponsorship: "adult" communication
Target 18 + and labeling. No integration in children's/youth sports, mandatory RG disclaimers.
Prohibition of "fast money": without FOMO timers and "risk-free" promises; coefficients - only informative, without pressure.
Influencers: audience "adult," correct tone, mandatory advertising.
7) Supervision and sanctions
Checks: documentary and field; test rates, "mystery shopper" purchases, IT stress tests.
Sanctions: warning, fine, suspension/revocation of license; inclusion of the domain in the "black list."
Remediation: corrective action plan, target dates, subsequent audit.
8) Reporting and analytics for the NBA
Periodic reports: GGR/NGR, active players, average deposits, conclusions, RG indicators (limits, pauses, self-exclusion).
Incident-reports: feed downtime, cashout failures, mass complaints, data leaks.
Anti-fraud metrics: suspicious patterns, chargeback dynamics, network anomalies.
9) Cooperation and coordination
Connection with communication providers for blocking illegal domains.
Coordination with law enforcement on AML/cybersecurity.
Exchange of knowledge with foreign regulators and participation in the EU working agenda on the digital market.
10) Operator guidelines: short checklist
1. Legal transparency: disclosed beneficiaries, sources of funds, updated corporate documents.
2. KYC/AML pipeline: auto-checks + manual escalations, logs and SLA reviews.
3. RG-UX: limits/pause/self-exclusion are "one tap," educational tips in live.
4. IT reliability: backup feeds, CDN, UI degradation without drops, DR plan with regular tests.
5. Advertising: templates with labeling, audit of targeting 18 +, lack of FOMO and "easy money."
6. Reporting: delivery calendar, data quality check, quick incident-report mechanism.
11) Typical violations and how to avoid them
Late verification (access to the game before KYC) → the introduction of "hard" gating.
Aggressive creatives ("have time to pick up") → neutral tone, correct deadlines.
Weak logs and telemetry → a single format, integrity control, time synchronization.
Undertrained support → RG/AML regulations, dialogue checklists, QA sessions.
12) Vision 2030 (framework)
Mature "white" segment: an increase in the share of licensed rates due to predictable rules.
Digitalization of supervision: more behavioral analytics, proactive RG signals, automation of creative verification.
Omnichannel: unification of profiles and history of transactions between retail and online, transparent payments.
Innovation under control: possible pilots of tokenized calculations and unified self-exclusion platforms - only within the strict requirements of KYC/AML and RG.
Conclusion: The National Betting Authority (NBA) is the betting regulation centre in Cyprus, providing clear entry rules, strict compliance, responsible advertising and player protection. For operators, this means an understandable path to a license and predictable supervision; for the state - transparent receipts and risk reduction; for players - a safe and honest product with self-control tools. It is this model that allows the market to grow without losing public confidence.