Cyprus lawmakers are considering measures that could prevent Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) recipients from gambling, with discussions focusing on how authorities can identify beneficiaries without creating unnecessary privacy risks.
The issue came before the House Audit Committee during its review of an Audit Office report concerning the Deputy Ministry of Social Welfare. MPs examined whether welfare authorities should receive more detailed banking information and whether government systems could cross-reference beneficiary data with casinos and betting operators.
GMI, known locally as EEE, provides a minimum income for residents whose earnings do not cover their basic needs. Lawmakers want to ensure that welfare payments serve their intended purpose while also establishing whether recipients continue to meet the eligibility requirements.
Several proposals have emerged during the discussions. Data Protection Commissioner Maria Christofidou suggested issuing GMI beneficiaries with a dedicated card that could allow casinos to identify them. Some MPs warned that this approach could stigmatise people receiving welfare.
The discussions also examined whether existing identification systems could achieve the same objective with less personal information being shared.
Officials Examine Wider Access to Bank Information
The Welfare Benefits Administration Service (WBAS) currently receives limited banking information about GMI recipients. Authorities can see an account balance and the highest balance recorded during a specified period.
Giannis Vasiliadis, director of WBAS, said the existing information can highlight cases that require further investigation, although it cannot establish gambling activity by itself.
“The issue is that the way it’s given to us now is limited,” Vasiliadis told the committee.
He cited a case involving a beneficiary who had approximately €3,000 in her account before receiving a €5,000 grant for solar-panel installation. The combined funds pushed the balance above the GMI eligibility threshold. Authorities suspended her benefit while investigating the origin of the money.
The committee also heard that banks can technically provide detailed statements directly to state authorities when the appropriate legal requirements and authorisations are in place. A banking-sector representative said, “The bank can send a statement, it’ll send it in PDF format.”
MPs discussed the fees banks charge for account statements, which range from €1 to €5. One concern was that beneficiaries should not have to pay for information requested as part of a government verification process.
Data protection rules remain central to the issue. A legal opinion from 2022 found that there was no legal basis for obtaining detailed bank account information. The Data Protection Commissioner’s office later reconsidered that position.
“We reviewed the issue. There’s a legal basis, there’s the decree,” a representative told the committee.
The debate therefore includes both the technical ability to obtain additional financial information and the legal conditions required before authorities can use it.
Casino System Could Identify GMI Beneficiaries
The Gaming & Casino Supervision Commission has also been examining gambling patterns among GMI recipients.
Harris Tsangarides, the commission’s executive director, said officials had observed increased gambling activity around the time GMI payments are made. The pattern, identified since 2023, prompted the commission to contact WBAS about checking whether people applying for casino membership cards receive GMI.
The two authorities have developed what Tsangarides described as a “technical solution”. The proposed process would use a person’s ID number to check the GMI database and return only a yes-or-no response.
This would allow authorities to determine whether a casino-card applicant receives GMI without providing the casino with additional personal information.
Casino membership cards are still not fully implemented across Cyprus. Tsangarides said the system has yet to become fully operational at casinos in Nicosia and Limassol. The intention is to make casino card issuance mandatory more widely from mid-2027.
The existing gambling framework restricts minors and people classified as financially vulnerable from gambling. GMI recipients, however, are currently not included within that legal category.
Disy MP Giorgos Pamboridis raised the possibility of using income information as a condition for casino access, citing systems used in other countries. Tsangarides clarified that Cyprus does not currently restrict entry to casinos based on income. People can enter casino premises, while restrictions apply to who is permitted to gamble.
Online Betting Presents a Different Challenge
The National Betting Authority said the majority of gambling activity in Cyprus now takes place online.
“In Cyprus in recent years, eight in ten players have been playing online,” the authority said.
Identification is more difficult at land-based betting shops because a large amount of betting activity remains anonymous. Online operators, however, can identify registered users through existing account information.
The NBA already operates a self-exclusion platform that allows individuals to block themselves from licensed online gambling sites. Registration requires a mobile phone number, a valid email address and an identification document. Users can select the duration of their exclusion and later deregister from the system.
The authority said the platform could also be used to restrict GMI recipients if legislation authorises the measure.
“Technically speaking, we’re ready to go. If the relevant legislation passes, we could on the same day place them on the self-exclusion platform,” an NBA official said, as reported by Cyprus Mail.
A separate representative described the authority as “fully ready technically” and said beneficiaries could be added to the system on the same day if the proposed legal change takes effect.
The proposal has emerged alongside wider concerns over the way government agencies exchange information. Audit Office findings identified weaknesses in obtaining information from credit institutions and cross-referencing records, while the absence of interconnected information systems limits the effectiveness of existing checks.
Lawmakers must therefore determine how to create an effective restriction system while respecting data-protection requirements. The casino-card proposal, expanded bank-data access and use of the existing online self-exclusion platform remain part of the wider discussion over how Cyprus could prevent GMI payments from being used for gambling.