Czech Rep preps for 2016 online regulation
Country in process of amending current Act on Lotteries to license foreign operators for the first time
The Czech Republic is set to license foreign remote operators for the first time after its government revealed it was preparing to overhaul the country’s gambling laws.
Finance minister Andrej BabiÅ¡ is finalising a number of amendments to the country’s Act on Lotteries which will see a previous proposal for foreign operators to have a physical presence within the country removed.
At present, five operators are licensed to supply fixed-odds betting, namely Sazka, Synot Tip, Chance, Fortuna and Tipsport.
However, if the amendments are approved by Parliament, the market will be opened up to foreign competition and the number of licences will be increased by 2016.
According to local gambling lawyer Zuzana Zahumenska of law firm Havel, Holásek & Partners, the rates of taxation have yet to be decided, however, they are likely to be revenue-based and vary from vertical to vertical.
“For the purpose of taxation the forms of hazard will be divided into three or more zones,” Zahumenska told eGaming Review.
“Slots will be subject to the highest taxation as the most dangerous form, in the middle zone there will be casinos and the least will pay those who bet on lucky numbers or winning sports teams,” she added.
With lotteries and sports currently taxed at 20%, slots and other casino games should expect a larger levy to be applied.
The Ministry of Finance is responsible for the country’s gambling regulation, and in a recent interview with Bloomberg, deputy finance minister Ondrej Zavodsky said the provision of online gambling would help balance the books in relation to money spent on problem gambling.
“We need to create an environment that will allow us to tackle hard core gaming like slots or table games,” Zavodsky said. “The indirect costs for the state stemming from such gambling are several times higher than the revenue it collects – that should be made even.”