There has been a significant warning over the exposure of Czech citizens to black market activity.
Increased clarification is needed from the Czech government, according to the Institute for the Regulation of Gambling (IPRH), as it emphasised that there are major discrepancies in the data published by the government.
It comes after the latest figures from the CELNI SPRAVA, the General Directorate of Customs, which monitors Czech gambling activities – the IPRH challenged these numbers and specifically claims that illegal gambling accounts for just 5% of total wagering volume, reported to be CZK 54bn (€2.1bn) in 2022.
The IPRH specifically was sceptical at the process that saw Czech Customs come to such a low figure amidst the consistent closing of illegal venues.
It was also revealed that the number of legal Czech gambling establishments has decreased to 707 as of last year.
IPRH’s independent assessment suggests that Czech gambling has at least 30% exposure to illegal gambling activities, a figure likely increasing as consumers migrate to online platforms.
Jan Řehola, Founder and Director of IPRH, notes that illegal land-based gambling activities have cost the Czech state up to CZK 2.1bn (€85m) annually.
The IPRH also highlights discrepancies in how the Customs Agency gathers data on the percentage of exposure to illegal online gambling, as customs officials focus only on sites in the Czech language.
In 2017, the Czech government introduced a revised gambling regime that imposed a new tax structure: a 23% tax on gross gaming revenue for sports betting and lotteries, and a 35% tax for slots and casino games, in addition to the standard corporate tax rate of 19%.
Efforts to block illegal online gambling sites remain challenging, as operators often bypass these measures by using mirror sites. These mirror sites, which copy the original sites but with different domain addresses, enable illegal gambling activities to continue despite enforcement efforts.
IPRH urges the government to collaborate on reforms, with its members supporting the launch of a new national self-exclusion register to protect vulnerable individuals from gambling addiction. The trade body highlights the success of this collaborative scheme, which has seen 202,000 Czech citizens register for self-exclusion from gambling since its launch in 2017.
