BookieCo License Suspended After Owner Arrested in Organized Crime Probe
Posted on: February 16, 2026, 06:15h.
Last updated on: February 16, 2026, 06:15h.
- Cyprus suspends BookieCo license after owner’s arrest
- Police allege torture videos found on another suspect’s phone
- Violent Larnaca brawl tied to wider organized crime probe
Cypriot authorities have suspended the license of local land-based and online bookmaker BookieCo after police arrested its co-owner, Lazaros Philippou, as part of an investigation into alleged organized crime, according to the country’s betting regulator.
The move comes amid a wave of suspected gang violence in the Republic of Cyprus that includes the emergence of videos depicting the brutal torture of victims in the backroom of a local casino.
Philippou, 47, is currently in custody pending ongoing investigations by Cypriot authorities. While the regulator did not explicitly link the refusal to renew BookieCo’s license to the ongoing investigation, the timing coincides with the arrest and remand of the businessman, The Cyprus Mail notes.
Assassination Attempt, Violent Brawl
In July 2025, Philippou, a well-known figure in the local business community, survived an apparent attempt on his life after a gunman fired at him as he was cycling.
On January 17, 2026, a large, violent brawl erupted in the center of Larnaca, a city on Cyprus’ southeast coast. Video footage circulated showing two groups clashing in broad daylight with weapons including axes, sticks, and crowbars, just a stone’s throw from the local police station.
At least two gunshots were heard during the altercation and some civilians were injured, according to police accounts.
At least one of several arrested on suspicion of involvement in the melee was found to have graphic torture videos on their phone, police said.
The videos, between 2023 and 2025, featured people being held captive in “an office from hell” on the casino’s first floor, according to investigators. Victims were beaten, threatened with guns and knives, and forced to hand over money or make coerced “confessions.”
Torture Footage
In one recording, a man with a swollen eye and visible head injuries is punched, spat on, and verbally abused, at one point appearing to lose control of his bladder during the assault. In another clip, he screams as a knife is struck against his head and he is threatened with mutilation, according to prosecutors.
Other footage shows a foreign national pleading not to be beaten as he is repeatedly struck with a metal object, blood streaming from his nose before he collapses. Another is seen with a gun forced into his mouth, while additional videos show knives being sharpened, hands slashed, belts used as whips, and victims kicked as they cry for mercy.
In late January, police said they had arrested “a prominent Larnaca businessman,” 47, who is believed to be the ringleader of a criminal group that collects protection money through violence and intimidation.
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