Online Casinos in the Czech Republic
Gambling in the Czech Republic is one of the European states where most of the modern varieties of gambling are fully legal. Operations of both land-based gambling establishments and gambling websites are allowed in the nation's territory. The Czech Republic has over a hundred casinos. According to the statistics, there is one slot machine for every 200 residents. Czech regions are among the largest centres of gambling tourism in Europe.
Legal Online Casinos in the Czech Republic
Discover the list of fully licensed and legal casinos in the Czech Republic and play only in safe and trustworthy websites.
Gambling Games in the Czech Republic
Like in many other European countries, Greentube products have also been successful in the Czech Republic. Slots designed by this Austrian developer, such as Super Hot, Book of Ra Deluxe and Sizzling Hot among other models, can often be seen as top ranking ones in Czech online casinos. Playtech is yet another company whose games have been quite popular. These are the slots by this developer that have piqued the interest among the players of this country: Rocky, White King, The Three Musketeers, The Age of The Gods line of slots, Gladiator and Top Trumps Celebs. Judging from the statistics of how often gambling resources are visited, the most popular gambling entertainment in the Czech Republic today is sports betting.
Gambling Legislation
At the present moment the provisions that regulate the gambling industry in the Czech Republic are described in the Gambling Act that came into force on 1st January 2017. In this legislative act, online casinos were added to the existing types of gambling. Up until January 2017 the country had a law on lotteries and other related games, which was adopted back in 1990. These are the varieties of gambling that are allowed in the Czech Republic today: lotteries, sports betting, horse race betting and bookmaking, bingo, poker and other card games, slot machines and terminals and casino games (roulette, table games, etc.).
According to the Czech laws, not all categories of citizens have access to gambling entertainment. Restrictions have been imposed on people who receive benefits or who filed for bankruptcy. Personal data of the citizens who have been denied access to the casinos have been entered into a special register. Nevertheless, they do have a right to purchase lottery tickets and take part in small tournaments. Persons under the age of 18 are not allowed to gamble.
Gambling regulation in the Czech Republic
Ever since online casinos were legalised in the Czech Republic in the beginning of 2017, a number of strict limitations came into force. Many major international operators decided to suspend their operations in the nation's territory. For example, William Hill has left the Czech Republic. Foreign operators have encountered some difficulties in being licensed in the territory of the Czech Republic. As a result, the leading positions were taken over by local companies, such as Fortuna Entertainment Group, Sazka, Tipsport, Chance and Synot Group.
To conduct operations in the territory of the Czech Republic, online casinos must have an interface in the national language. The most popular websites of Czech bookmakers are Tipsport.cz and iFortuna.cz (which is the very first gambling resource licensed in the Czech Republic). Sazka.cz is the most popular lottery service.
Gambling Licensing
The Ministry of Finance is the main regulating authority that oversees the operations in the gambling industry. The process of obtaining a license consists of several stages. First of all, one has to obtain the base license from the Ministry of Finance. Next, land-based establishments have to get a permit for the intended use of premises from the respective municipal authorities. Tax Cobra is the organization that fights illegal gambling in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance. To qualify for a license, the company must meet the following requirements: the company must be a legal entity registered in the Czech Republic or in the EU have a transparent organisational structure, have authorised capital of at least 2,000,000 EUR and have sufficient personnel and organisational and financial capacity to organise gambling. On average, processing takes about 30 days. The fee for issuing a base license is 200 EUR, and 150 EUR for gaming premises. Permits for operations of online casinos are issued based on similar conditions except for the items that cover premises. Below is the list of categories of games that are subject to mandatory licensing in the Czech Republic: lotteries, betting, Bookmaking, Small tournaments, Bingo, Technical games (slots, terminals, etc.) and Live games (any gambling games where the result would not depend on a random number generator). Lotteries and bookmakers are taxed at 23%, and types of entertainment where the win depends on the random number generator are taxed at 35%.
Development of the Gaming Market in the Czech Repulic
Endorphina is the most popular company in the Czech Republic that specialises in the development of gambling games. This developer has been operating in the market since 2010. This Czech team of developers has designed over 40 different games. The company has created some popular slots such as Twerk, Jetsetter and Fairy Tale. Complex software solutions and platforms for online casinos are being produced under the Endorphina brand. The developer has been focusing on games based on HTML5, which are highly adaptable. The company's games can be easily reproduced on PCs as well as on portable devices. Prospects for the future development of the gambling industry in the Czech Republic.
Lenient attitude of the Czech government towards the gambling industry allows us to boldly predict the dynamic development of this business in the country. Despite tighter monitoring of gambling after the 2017 law was passed, no decline in the popularity of this kind of entertainment has ever been spotted. Local operators started to gain an apparent priority. This is the reason why the government manages to monitor the taxation. No ban on any gambling entertainment in the Czech Republic is expected in the near future. This is a profitable segment of the market that replenishes the state budget substantially. More online casinos run by local operators are expected to spring up in the near future, since the licensing procedure is relatively simple. The fact that more and more Czech gambling websites are emerging is proof of this. The Czech Republic is a country where comfortable and safe conditions have been created for gambling fans. Restrictions only concern those categories of citizens, for whom it would be harmful or easy to get carried away with gambling. The government is meeting the gambling operators halfway, which makes this area of business promising and profitable.
