Parliament has given the Justice Ministry 15 days to submit legislation regulating airsoft — a sport the ministry has ignored for a decade despite repeated calls for regulation.
Legal Affairs Committee chair Nicos Tornaritis set the deadline at a hearing on Wednesday, where lawmakers and federation representatives called for the sport to be brought within a legal framework. It was noted at the session that the ministry has been aware of the issue since 2014.
DISY MP Prodromos Alambritis, who has already submitted a bill to amend the Firearms and Non-Firearms Law, told the hearing the legislation was needed to support a growing activity.
“It is a rising sport worldwide and has expanded to Cyprus as well,” he said. He added that legislators had studied the framework governing paintball, which carries similarities, as well as regulations in other countries.
Some 700 people play airsoft in Cyprus, according to federation president Argyris Argyrou, whose organisation has 130 registered members. He said interest has grown over the past four to five years.
The federation wants designated, properly signposted venues for matches and is calling for the law to be amended to remove obstacles for both players and police.
A practical problem sits at the heart of the issue: the current law permits 4.5mm pellets, while airsoft uses 6mm, leaving players in a legal grey area.
The federation’s legal representative told the hearing that airsoft is a recreational and sporting activity intended to be done responsibly.
He called it contradictory that paintball is regulated while airsoft is not, and said comparative research had been conducted on how other European parliaments have handled the matter.
“We do not want to burden the police, but we want a good working relationship,” he said, adding that the goal was to establish a public safety framework for the sport in Cyprus.
The Justice Ministry said it supports regulation. A representative confirmed that a draft bill is being prepared to amend the law, noting that citizens have submitted requests for regulation over the years and that unresolved safety issues need to be addressed.
Police are also in favour of legalisation but want mandatory weapon registration so that owners can be identified. Officers told the committee that airsoft guns currently carry no serial numbers — an issue that would need to be resolved before any registration system could function.
“We are in favour of legalisation, but there must be regulation on safety,” police said, also flagging concerns about pellet specifications and battery-powered weapons.
