Lawmakers in Cyprus introduced a bill to the European Commission last month, asking for a complete ban of online casinos and Internet gambling in order for the country to combat crime. Next Wednesday the bill will be heard by the EC.

Previously, the government of Portugal has been successful in persuading the Commission to ban online casino gambling in the country for safety reasons. The legislators in Cyprus, said they hope that their anti online gambling bill will follow in the footsteps of Portugal. The European Commission will rule on the internet casino prohibition of Cyprus next Wednesday, there is no reason to think that they will allow the ban, as they are dealing with international trade rules. The EU has clear rules in place to ensure that EU Member States are free to trade between Member States. However, there are situations where a country gets the right to ban Internet gambling, that was the case in Portugal. Cyprus is the second country that uses crime as a scapegoat to adapt for their casino gambling laws.

According to some industry experts it is very likely that the EC will reject the request for the ban will, fearing that other countries will use crime as a pretext to ban online casinos. Often the real reason for the prohibition is to protect the casino gambling monopoly of the country. It is likely that the Commission will reject the arguments of Cyprus, and the forces them to appeal. If that happens, like with Portugal, the process can be delayed for several years. That would make it difficult for Cyprus to continue the ban until a final decision on the appeal. In recent years, countries are beginning to meet the trade rules by opening their online casino markets to foreign operators. They still need to have licenses in their own country and country of operation if they wish to operate an online casino. France, Italy and Spain have already opened their online gambling for competition.