Candy Dreams

What is Candy Dreams?

Lawmakers and regulators in Cyrpus have been debating methods to prevent recipients of the Guaranteed Minimum Income (GMI) from using state welfare payments for gambling. 

The GMI, know locally as EEE, is described as a “residual payment to guarantee and legal minimum income for all residents”.

Anyone residing in Cyprus, with income not high enough to support their basic needs, is eligible for the benefit.

What is Candy Dreams?

iGaming was not the industry I set out to work in. Before 2021, I worked in finance and business – agro companies, management consultancy and investment funds, none of which were remotely linked to the industry.

In 2021, I joined an investment fund focused on startups harnessing AI and machine learning. In the process, I had a chance encounter with an iGaming investor. This sparked a conversation that would change the course of my career. He pointed out that iGaming was dramatically underutilising its data potential. There was an opportunity here, and once we began exploring it, the thread just kept unravelling.

I started out as an adviser with the Playa, but was appointed the company’s CEO in 2024, a position I did not expect to find myself in, but an opportunity I have embraced with open arms. As a company, we provide AI personalisation solutions to businesses, something that was totally new to the market.

How to play Candy Dreams

Of the KSA’s update, Fuchs said: “If you [as an operator] have a clean sheet, there are some hoops, but for various modules you can just send a declaration which states that you’re compliant.”

He emphasised the new system would make burdens less demanding than before, but the new ‘exit plan’ requirement and sharper duty‑of‑care definitions do bring some added complexity.

The KSA said that applicants were previously required to detail corrective actions taken to address previous breaches and outline measures to prevent future violations.