CATASTROPHE WITH A CAPITAL ‘C’


As the Czech gambling market struggles it received a further blow in September when the Prague City Council voted to approve a decree to ban all technical games in the capital. Tis will prohibit mechanical, electromechanical and electronic games such as slots and VLTs.


Tis decree is a blanket ban on all slots which will come into force on January 1 2021, although existing approvals can complete their licensing term with a bridging period of three years which will allow them to operate until 2024.


Prague is the 14th largest city in the European Union and home to around 1.3 million people. It is recognised as one of the most beautiful European cities, as well as the political, cultural and economic hub of central Europe.


Over the years it has become a hugely attractive city for international companies basing their


Te number of Czechs who gamble has been growing. A report showed in the last 12 months up to 50 per cent of adults have played games of chance, particularly lotteries. Te opening of the online environment in 2017 is also partly responsible for the increase. It is estimated that 1.6 per cent of the population over the age of 15 are at risk of developing problem gambling issues.


European headquarters here. Around one fifth of all investments in the Czech Republic take place in Prague.


Prague’s GDP per capita is almost double that of any other region in Czech and in 2017 it was the seventh richest region in the EU. Te city is responsible for around 21 per cent of the national GDP.


Prague has become a hugely popular weekend break destination. Known as the City of a Tousand Spires, its cultural and architectural gems however can be marred by the allure of cheap booze and gambling. Something the city now wants to tidy up.


Slots at one time were found everywhere around Prague whether they were located in the


NEWSWIRE / INTERACTIVE / MARKET DATA P35


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