Paphos Casino
The first attempts of Russian businessmen to establish a casino in Paphos were made back in 1991, which tried to investigate the organization of a gambling establishment in Cyprus in as much detail as possible. While in Moscow the establishments of such a plan grew like mushrooms after rain, young Russian businessmen were directly indignant at the desire to transfer this new, for Russians, type of business to other countries.
Paphos Casino In the first place, foreign businessmen were interested in foreign legislation; they argued that day after day, the Parliament of the Republic of Cyprus would decide to open gambling houses on this beautiful island. But even after 15 years in this matter, absolutely nothing has moved forward, everything remains in the same place where it all began. The ban on gambling continues in the country. But there is no consensus, good or bad. It all depends on how to approach this issue. If we talk about the experience that has been accumulated in other cities and countries, the market turnover only of slot machines hardly fit into a billion dollars, in Moscow alone, before the introduction of the relevant law prohibiting gambling outside special zones. Themselves one-armed bandits, who were legally installed, also had more than 100 thousand. In addition, by the number of gambling establishments, Moscow was also a world leader. In the capital, a huge number of licenses were issued for the right to introduce such activities. The annual total income from this industry was in the billions of dollars. Thanks to such super-profits, the organizers of gambling activities were able to afford lobbying laws in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Of course, the desired results were not achieved immediately, it was necessary to spend a lot of time and money. And only in December 1998, the law on the taxation of gambling entered into force. Based on this regulatory act, gambling enterprises do not pay taxes on their revenues. The law established fixed annual tax rates from each gaming table in the club. That is, it turned out that the owner of a gambling establishment must pay once a year for each gambling table. But the amount of taxes was insignificant in relation to the profit that each owner of such gambling equipment received. The adopted law was supposed to hit the pockets of the owners of gaming clubs, but since then their business has become completely officially super-profitable.
The emergence of easy money from gambling has affected many lives of Russians. Unemployment, corruption, criminality, mental disorders, alcoholism and depression are just some of the aspects of this phenomenon. So, many people abandoned their usual professions, and went to work as service personnel in gambling houses, since their wages were several times higher and their working conditions were much more democratic.
This example was given because, based on the current situation in Russia, one can imagine how Cypriot life would change if slot machines appeared on their island, as well as numerous casinos in Paphos. And if someone believes that gambling could attract an additional number of foreign tourists to the island, he is greatly mistaken. As you know, a large proportion of the annual millions of tourists come here from England and Germany. Both of them and the second from the experience of their countries have long known what gambling houses are. Yes, and mostly people from middle-income countries and pensioners come from these countries. All they need is the sea, the sun and the fresh sea air. And the youth from these countries seeks to get into nightclubs, discos, bars and enjoy other youth entertainment.
However, the Cypriots themselves, as everyone knows, are very, very reckless. Therefore, the local church and authorities are well aware of the consequences of gambling business support in the Republic. The subject of capital flight to the north of the island has been repeatedly discussed in the State Parliament, and in recent months this issue has been raised before the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. The local tourism organization has studied in detail all aspects of the gambling business, gave its recommendations and advice. But it seems that now nobody is ready to discuss this slippery topic for many categories of the population. And it is not at all clear how to resolve this issue.
If you study the experience of the Turkish Cypriots, then everything is quite obvious. There you can see a huge number of billboards with an invitation to visit certain gambling establishments. But who plays there. Or Greek Cypriots, or continental Turks, or foreign visitors. As for the Turkish Cypriot, they are generally strictly forbidden to enter into such gambling houses.