Members of the Cyprus Parliament are not letting a poorly translated copy of regulations get in their way of reviewing the legislative proposal that could bring the first casino to the country.
Local media outlets reported that parties pledged on Tuesday that “they will submit specific opinions and suggestions at the next parliamentary committee session” next week. The MPs expect the issue to be finished by March.
In July 2015, the Cypriot parliament voted 29-22 in favor of the long-delayed casino legislation, which would see a casino to be built on the Greek-controlled southern half of the island. Now, the lawmakers are busy going over the casino regulations, such as the “individual functions of a supervisory authority and control of the authority by the auditor-general.”
The MPs, however, were stumped by the proposal that had failed to clearly translate the adopted chapters—majority from gambling bills in other countries—into Greek. House Commerce Committee Chairman Zacharias Zachariou told local media outlets that there were ambiguities in the translated text.
Zachariou told In-Cyprus.com: “The regulations that have been put forward have been translated from English into Greek and there are some provisions and legal wordings that remain unclear. The translation into Greek is lacking.”
The committee chairman said all MPs “want the legislation to be clear in Greek also,” according to Cyprus Mail.
The government needs the MPs to approve the final rules and regulations before they can move forward in the tender competition, which would see three participants remain out of the eight companies that have expressed their interest in bidding for Cyprus’s lone casino license.
Among the bidders were Hard Rock International, NagaCorp, Bloomberry Resorts Corp, Bouygues Batiment International, Accord Hotels and casino operator Barriere, and Absolut. Both Malaysia’s Genting and South Africa’s Sun International withdrew their bids late in the game, while Caesars Entertainment decided to focus its attention closer to home due to its ongoing bankruptcy debacle.
Cyprus’s casino isn’t expected to open for another three years, but the licensee will be allowed to open a temporary facility whenever it’s ready. The casino license is valid for a 30-year period with 15 years of exclusivity.
