The Czech Republic has legalized gambling and there are more than 100 traditional casinos scattered throughout the country. According to the official statistics of the Czech Ministry of Finance, the total revenue from home gambling market came to CZK 39.8 billion (USD 1.77 billion) in 2017 (https://calvinayre.com/2018/06/28/business/czech-online-gambling-market-spikes/). The casino revenue in 2017 amounted to EUR 240 million (https://www.statista.com/statistics/545559/casino-gaming-revenue-czech-republic/).

The Czech Republic once had the highest number of slot machines per head than any European nation. But, since 2017, more than 450 Czech municipalities have implemented total prohibitions against slot machines. Revenue from regulated gambling in the Czech Republic fell 21.3% in 2018 to CZK 31.3 billion (USD 1.4 billion), the decline due to a lower contribution from slot machines (https://www.igamingbusiness.com/news/slot-decline-hits-czech-gambling-market-2018). The so-called “kvizomats” (quiz machines) popped up in place of banned slot machines.

Regulations and laws

In 2017, the new legal framework was established for gambling. Act No. 186/2016 Coll. (https://www.mfcr.cz/cs/legislativa/legislativni-dokumenty/2016/zakon-c-186-2016-sb-25992), On Gambling (abbreviated as ZHH), regulates gambling in the Czech Republic. This law has the following key goals: stricter supervision by the state, taxation, sanctions for illegal gambling operators and elimination of compulsive gaming.

ZHH has introduced complex regulations for online gambling. The legal age for gambling in this country is 18 years old. Czech is the only language that can provide information about gambling operations. It is illegal to gamble in schools, youth facilities and health-care facilities. ZHH lists all legal forms of gambling.

Czech Ministry of Finance manages licensing and regulates gambling. The Ministry of Finance provides timely information on gambling legislation, legal operators, and other gambling issues on its official website (https://www.mfcr.cz/cs/soukromy-sektor/hazardni-hry). The Ministry of Finance’s Department 73 (Procedures and Gambling Regulation) examines issues related to gambling and analyzes current conditions in the country. It also supervises ZHH compliance. The Ministry of Finance maintains both a registry of exclusions from online gambling as well as a list of unlicensed operators. The list of legal gambling operators is published on the Ministry’s website every month (https://www.mfcr.cz/cs/soukromy-sektor/hazardni-hry/prehledy-a-statistiky/prehledy-legalnich-provozovatelu-whiteli/2019/seznam-legalnich-provozovatelu-hazardnic-36311).

Land-Based Casinos

ZHH states that most land-based casino licenses were renewed in 2018. Prague has at most 20 casinos. All over the Czech Republic, there are at least 20 casinos. There are many of them in resorts and hotels. The casino offers poker and other casino games. It is against the law to provide food and drink as a complimentary service. Casinos allow free entry. ZHH has made it mandatory for casinos that they verify the age and identity of all their guests before they can enter any casino. To do this, visitors will need to show their Schengen ID card or passport. Casinos are prohibited from allowing anyone under the age of 18 to visit. The casino operator keeps daily records about all guests. The casino operators are required to assist gamblers in exercising self-control.

Online Gambling

Since January 2017, online gambling is fully legalized and regulated by the Czech Republic. In 2017, online gambling generated CZK 8.3 million (USD370 million), which is about one-fifth the total gambling market. Revenue from online casinos, which Czech operators were not allowed to offer until the country revised its gaming law, totaled over CZK 2 billion (https://calvinayre.com/2018/06/28/business/czech-online-gambling-market-spikes/).

Taxes must be paid and foreign companies need to register in order to operate. Websites that are not licensed will be blocked. Online gamers who are Czech citizens but reside in another country will be treated as Czech residents. ZHH says that identity and age verifications are mostly performed via OpenID. However, players may be required to produce a copy of their identification or another official document to prove they are at least 18 years old.

Most internationally licensed operators were forced to leave the market after a new regulatory framework was implemented for gambling. A few international operators began coming back. PokerStars (https://www.pokerstarslive.com/ept/prague/) and PartyPoker (https://en.partypoker.cz/) are active international operators who have been granted new Czech licenses.