The Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic has notified national media of its intent “to implement tax changes on gambling”.

The notice was declared by Czech Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura, who is currently drafting new measures for the national budget in which the Civic Democratic (ODS) government has “emphasised delivering savings of Kč 70bn [$3.2bn].”

The savings target is required as the Treasury seeks to maintain the Czech Rep’s national deficit at Kč 295bn [$13.3bn], to avoid debt-to-GDP reaching its highest record of +46% in the CEE nation’s history.

Czech Gambling is reported to contribute Kč 9bn [$400m] per year to the state budget.