Following an item reporting on Northern Cyprus casinos (12.09.09 edition), we welcome the informed comments from a distinguished casino operator in that country, who sets the record straight and enlightens us further on some points for the benefit of the community of casino operators, emphasizing the fact that the casino industry goes beyond the fiscal revenue creating benefits for a country. The operator’s reply follows:

CasinoCompendium published an interesting article on casinos in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the tourist industry in general in this undiscovered gem of a corner of the Mediterranean. A point to clarify; the article mentions “Turkish administered Northern Cyprus”. The TRNC is not Turkish administered. It is an independent republic.

As the country stands politically now, with all the impediments put against it by the “international community” at the instigation of the Republic of Cyprus (Greek) it is hardly surprising that there are only some 450,000 tourists visiting the country each year. Tourism in TRNC, or more importantly, high revenue producing tourism is fostered, grown and maintained by the Cyprus casino industry. Without the casinos there would be few luxury hotels in TRNC as the hotels are either owned by the casino operators or have casinos in them that bring in tourists and fill the hotels. These hotels enable the operators to bring in the mainstream consumer tourists, mainly from Britain and Northern Europe. Without the luxury hotels there would be few tourists of any sort and without the tourists, the country’s economy would wither.

As noted, tourists contribute around US $440 million to the economy annually with a “contribution” of US $15 – 20 million by the casinos. These last figures are deceptive as they merely note the gaming revenue of the casinos; a large proportion of the US $440 million comes also from the casinos either directly or indirectly by the casinos’ purchase of flight tickets for the players, by the purchase of hotel rooms, by the use of local transport and taxi facilities, by the local purchasing of the F&B and operational supplies needed to service the gaming industry.

Without the casinos there would be little for local businesses to trade to the visiting tourists, as there would not be many of these. International casino players expect a high standard from the retail outlets they frequent and it appears up to the local retailers to realise that they are in an international market now and have a product offer that matches.

The numbers of tourists to the TRNC have naturally been falling in the last year. The international financial crisis has affected the country as it has affected everywhere else. This fall in tourist visitors (to the casinos) has absolutely nothing to do with so-called money laundering and the implication in the article that it might be. The new conditions in the gaming legislation recently imposed by the government have been positively welcomed by the Cyprus casino industry which is working hand in hand with the government (through the casino owners’ association) and which is striving to improve the previously tarnished image of Cyprus casinos, even to the extent of having advisors from the British Gambling Commission. All the operators realise and appreciate that better controls can only attract a better quality of player and be good for all. (E-12.15.09)

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