Cyprus bookmakers report 14% drop in GGR for Q2

Publishing its quarterly report for the second quarter of the year, the National Betting Authority of Cyprus has revealed a 14% drop in gross gaming revenue (GGR) for Class A (retail) and Class B (online) licensees. 

The report, which includes the publication of the financial results and quantitative data for the period April – June 2019, noted a tough trading period with retail-facing licensees taking the greatest hit. 

The combined comprehensive income for both Class A and Class B bookmakers showed a 4% increase between April-June 2019, reporting a combined figure of €176m compared to €169m in 2018. However, the retail licensees marked a decrease of 12% in comprehensive income compared to the same quarter of 2018.

Online licensees reported an 18% jump in comprehensive income in comparison to Q2 2018, with figures recorded as €107m. 

The GGR for Class A bookmakers for period decreased and reached a total amount of €12m, denoting a decrease of 14% in comparison to the same quarter of 2018. Meanwhile the GGR for Class B bookmakers for the period between April-June 2019, reached a total amount of €6m, resulting in a 15% decrease compared to the same period in 2018.

During Q2 2019, the number of Class A bookmakers remained the same as Q1 2019, with six bookmakers holding licenses. The number of Class B bookmakers decreased, however, from 10 to nine since Q1 of this year.

This comes as the National Betting Authority reported a ‘significant increase of 1656%’ in the number of online gambling sites that had been blocked by the regulator since the same period in 2015, when the country’s blocking procedure was introduced.

Included in the interim report, 9624 sites are reported to have been blocked during Q2, compared to 548 sites blocked in Q1 of 2015. Furthermore, the number of blocked websites increased by 8%, compared to the first quarter of 2019, with 893 illegal websites added to the list.