In 2022, the Cyprus National Betting Authority commissioned Greo Evidence Insights and Insights Market Research to conduct a prevalence study to assess rates of gambling participation and problem gambling to enhance understanding of gambling harms in the Republic of Cyprus, and serve as a foundation from which to build a public health approach to addressing gambling related harm. Questionnaire responses (N=2,950) were collected via telephone interviews using computer assisted telephone interviewing between November 11, 2022, and December 30, 2022.
In 2022, just over half of respondents (55%) reported participating in one or more gambling activities in the past year, with the greatest proportion of respondents engaging in lottery gambling, specifically lottery games (e.g., Joker, Lotto, Proto) and scratch cards. Approximately 1.5% of Cypriots met the criteria for problem gambling, scoring 8 or more on the PGSI. This percentage of people meeting the criteria for problem gambling is within the range of problem gambling rates observed internationally in prevalence surveys using the PGSI conducted since 2019.