Czech Republic gambling stakeholders hope that the government will proceed with regulatory adjustments to banking and customer verification requirements that will allow for a smoother market entry.
Following 2017 amendments to the ‘Czech AML Act’ in connection with the implementation of a new ‘Czech Gambling Act’ – the Ministry of Finance enforced the requirement for operators to impose ‘face-to-face’ customer verifications at 7,500 authorised ‘check-point’ venues.
The stringent measure, alongside taxes of 23% GGR on sports betting and 35% GGR across online casinos, saw the Czech Republic witness the entire marketplace withdrawal of foreign operators.
A raft of operators including bet365, Entain Plc (formerly GVC Holdings) and William Hill left the market citing that conditions had ‘become unworkable’, adding that the Ministry of Finance had imposed compliance requirements that no other European market deemed appropriate.
