Prague – 26 February 2019 – Industry media has reported that the land-based gambling industry in Czechia is soaring and just recently the Finance Minister, Alena Schillerová, has declared victory in the battle to restrict, monitor – and collect taxes from – casinos and gaming machine bars. Over the past seven years, she told reporters, the number of casinos has dropped by three-quarters and the number of gaming machines by nearly half, to under 39,000 at last count.
In an interview with Radio.cz, Schillerová told reporters: “I’m definitely very satisfied with how things are going. The Czech Republic has ceased to be a casino in the heart of Europe. Since January 2012, the number of casinos is down from 7,600 to roughly 1,800 – one quarter as many.”
Despite the extensive crackdown, the korunas keep rolling in for the government. Total gambling spend in 2017 and 2018 was up 14% to CZK224bn ($9.9bn; £7.6bn), while revenues were up a more modest 1.1% at CZK39.8bn ($1.77bn; £1.35bn).
Minister Schillerová said this is proof that the Gambling Law of 2017 is working. And while most brick-and-mortar casinos were re-licensed, they are now operating under tougher restrictions which aim to fight addiction – and tax evasion.
Casinos are obliged to register players, for example, take breaks in the action, and help gamblers exercise self-control.
The Ministry of Finance is readying an IT system that will include a list of people banned from gambling. These including people on welfare, facing distraint or in bankruptcy proceedings.
Online gambling was the big winner when talking about tax incomes, unsurprisingly after the mass closure of land-based opportunities to gamble. Online gambling now accounts for more than 20% of the total sector in the Czech Republic.
During the third edition of Prague Gaming Summit, leading experts of the industry from Czechia will present their view upon the developments of the gambling industry during the past 3 years.
The panel will be moderated by Jaka Repanšek (Media and Gaming Expert) and the leading experts of the gambling industry who are joining the panel discussion are: Jan Rehola (Lawyer, PS Legal), Tal Zamstein (Group Head of Gaming, Fortuna Group), Jakub Kolomicenko (Head of legal department, Endorphina) and Vojtech Chloupek (Partner at Bird & Bird).
You can Register here or View the Agenda
About Jaka Repanšek
Jaka has worked for various TIME (Telecom, Internet, Media, Entertainment) companies since 1996. He is recognized as one of the leading experts on gaming, media and digital law in Slovenia. Jaka graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana, Slovenia and gained his graduate degree from Cambridge University in England and Faculty of Law in Ljubljana (Diploma in European Community Law) and completed two-year MBA graduate studies at the University of Kansas in the USA. Jaka is an active member of IMGL (Slovenia) and a member of several other domestic and international organizations and is active also as a lecturer in various seminars and conferences.
Jaka will also take part in the IMGL MasterClass which will focus on Advertisement banning trends in the European Union and the Balkans.
You can Register here or View the Agenda
About Prague Gaming Summit
The yearly summit offers the opportunity for both new companies and veterans, to learn about industry insights and compliance updates, while also take part in several industry related discussions with the leading groups that are at the forefront of the gambling industry in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, and Liechtenstein.
Panel discussion lead by the leading experts of the gambling industry, will approach all regulatory and compliance related aspects of the mentioned markets and will also highlight some trending topics such as the relationships between Regulators, Operators – Affiliates, MasterCard’s new requirements for Online Merchants (CFD, FX, Gaming, Crypto), understanding millennials (with emphasis on eSports, Daily Fantasy Sports an Virtual Sports), outsourcing for gaming companies, IT security, AML, KYC, CSR.
The program will also include a very important IMGL MasterClass that will aim to share the latest insights by the International Masters of Gaming Law experts about advertisement banning.
The conference is held on a yearly basis and it is a “must-attend” gathering for all industry shareholders who are looking for top quality learning and networking having the online and land-based gambling industry in focus.
Full details about the event can be found on the official event website: www.praguegamingsummit.com
About the organizer, European Gaming Media and Events
European Gaming Media and Events is a leading media and boutique event organizer company in Europe and produces the prominent conferences in the region such as:
• CEEGC (Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference)
• CEEG Awards (Central and Eastern European Gaming Awards)
• Prague Gaming Summit
• Mare Balticum Gaming Summit
• Baltic and Scandinavia Gaming Awards
• EGC (European Gaming Congress)
• VIGE (Vienna International Gaming Expo)
The live events/conference division is in charge of organizing boutique style executive gaming events that focus on bringing inside information from the top gaming experts in the European Union and beyond.
In short, they cover most areas of Europe with international events that serve the local and global industry, optimize networking opportunities and bring the hottest topics into scope.
The event destinations in 2019 will include a further expansion for the company in their quest to enter the Western European region and bring their expertise to produce local gaming events.
For more details about the calendar, agendas and locations, visit the Live Events/Conferences section on europeangaming.eu
