Ministry Of Finance In Czech Republic Intends To Increase Gambling Taxes Up To 30%

The Ministry of Finance in the Czech Republic suggested raising taxes for gambling. If the announced plans are put in motion, the current GGR of 23% could go up. This would affect multiple spheres of the industry, such as live games, lotteries and bingo operators. In addition to this…

…other forms of gambling, such as fixed-odds betting, would be moderately leveled-up. They would stand at 25%, which is only 2% higher than the current tax level. The current tax for gaming machines, which is 35% of total annual revenue, would remain intact.

Suggested Exceptions For Lottery

Commenting on the proposed increase as unnecessary and disproportionate, the former leader of the KDU-CSL and TOP 09 parties, Miroslav Kalousek added that taxes for lottery should remain unchanged. Gambling has many forms, and not all of them are necessarily socially unacceptable and addictive. After all, the Czech Republic’s national lottery, Sazka…

…does a great job in fighting corruption in state lotteries and detecting various other forms of suspicious activities. The Global Lottery Monitoring system recognized the efforts and accepted Sazka as one of its members. As for the tax raises, the suggested amendments to the correlated laws should clarify the level of harmfulness and determine the percent based on that.

A Plethora Of Changes Taking Place In Czechia

The entertainment industry is actually not the only one to be struck by the tax raise. If rubber-stamped later this year, the proposed plans should become valid in January 2020, affecting taxes on the tobacco and alcohol sector as well. While waiting for this story to have its climax and final outcome…

…we have to point out an important industry related event to take place in Prague. The iGaming and Affiliate Marketing Conference will be held there, hosting a great number of renowned experts from various sectors and corporations.

This market seems to be very attractive to operators who are looking for ways to leave their footprint in the Czech Republic. The entry of the industry’s unpreceded brand Microgaming proves that there’s a lot of potential there.

Mixed Feelings For Higher Taxes

The tax revision was sure to increase the public budget and minimize the number of people with gambling-related problems. Still, some officials have more than justified fears that higher taxations could result in a raised level of illegal gambling.

As for Jan Volny, the vice-chairman of the ANO 2011 political party added, slight adjustments would make sense but huge ones, have predispositions to be counter-productive. Commenting on the proposed tax raise he says:

“Personally, I am a little worried not to overdo it and avoid gambling in the grey market. Current tax rates on live games and lotteries are sufficient.”

Source:

“Czech Finance Ministry proposes gambling tax hikes”, igamingbusiness.com, April 8, 2019.