Czech government scores legal win over Casino Kartáč Group

A court has rejected Casino Kartáč’s case against the Czech government over the system for issuing VLT permits.

The Czech Republic.- A district court in Prague has found in favour of the government in a lawsuit brought by Casino Kartáč Group over the operation of interactive video lottery terminals (VLTs).

The land-based casino operator claimed that there were errors in the Czech Ministry of Finance’s procedure for issuing permits for VLTs and was seeking CZK1.41bn (€53.8m) in compensation for lost profit as a result.

The Prague 1 District Court has found that the ministry acted in accordance with national law and dismissed the claim.

Minister of finance Alena Schillerová said: “The internal legal team did an excellent job again and has already defended many billions of crowns in the state in protracted lawsuits with this company.

“The courts have repeatedly ruled in our favour, which confirms our strong legal position. In addition, by managing these disputes without the involvement of external law firms, we save the state considerable financial resources.”

The decision represents another victory for the government over the casino operator.

In September, the Prague Municipal Court of Appeal rejected Casino Kartáč’s compensation claim related to the operation of online roulette in the country.

In September, the city government in Prague voted to ban all slot machines.