actual office with ID card before they can access the internet aimed at helping prevent underage users. It limited online gambling to fixed odds betting and prohibited casino game gambling.
Te licensed operators were carefully monitored whilst unregulated sites seemed to be left alone many of them operating with .cz domains and services in Czech language.
Tis caused some agitation amongst the legal operators who clearly saw their business affected by the illegal operations offering a wider variety of services and without any taxes. So they urged the authorities to reconsider the existing legislation and amend the laws. It is estimated that the Czechs currently wager $6bn per year online.
Meanwhile the laws were also found to be incompatible with the European Commission
and they also questioned the law in Czech and demanded a review with requirements that worked with the EU.
And they got their wish….
THE CHANGES So in 2014 the Czech gambling industry came under the radar as the government looked at the online gambling sector as a way of raising taxes and also to clarify the requirements under which gambling can operate.
At the time Finance Minister Andrej Babis announced that he wanted to increase taxes on betting companies from 2016. Companies currently pay a tax rate of 20 per cent on their gross win from gambling plus a 19 per cent corporate tax rate.
Te new conditions have long been a subject of
debate with powerful business groups lobbying hard against. Some of this has paid off. Initially Babis wanted three tax rates – 25 per cent for odds betting, 30 per cent for number lotteries and 35 per cent on slots. Tis was later amended slightly.
It was said with the new taxes the government could raise an additional CzK6bn ($270m) in revenues.
Babis said he wanted to bring the Czech gaming law in line with European legislation and curb gambling addiction.
At the time he said: “Te current legislation does not conform with those in developed European countries, gambling is out of control and the state loses billions every year. Te proposed aim of the amendments is primarily to ensure high protection of citizens from pathological
NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE /
247.COM P53
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84