New Online Gambling Bill On It’s Way for the Czech Republic

The government of the Czech Republic has finally got around to drafting a new gambling bill for the countries huge number of gambling halls, casinos and online operators. There is a slight snag, however, with an increase in gambling taxes in the pipeline.

Of course, these changes are still in the proposal stage, so any big changes may not actually take place, but the signs are there that this bill is close at hand.

New Czech gambling laws have been needed for some time, with the country being home to the most gambling licenses per capita across the whole planet. The new bill would introduce various levels of tax for different types of operators, from slot bars to casinos and even online.

The rise of the Internet gambler

One of the reasons the country has needed to tighten up their gambling laws has been the increase in number of online casinos in the Czech Republic. This, however, will not be one of the higher taxed sectors under the new bill, with the government looking to target “hardcore” gambling.

Deputy Finance Minister Ondrej Zavodsky commented: “We need to create an environment that will allow us to tackle hardcore gaming like slots or table games.”

Should the bill be passed, it would likely come into force in 2016, while casino and slot operators would bear the brunt of the tax increase. Conversely, lotteries would likely see a slight reduction in their tax burden under the proposed laws.