Czech Republic’s gambling market suffers revenue decline
Last year’s revenue for the Czech regulated gambling market totalled €1.2 billion, which represents a 21.3% decline.
The Czech Republic.- The General Financial Directorate of the Czech Republic has released the financial figures from 2018, which indicate that revenue from gambling suffered a 21.3% decline to €1.2 billion.
Despite the important setback in revenues, players wagered €9.7 billion last year, representing an 11.3% hike when compared to the previous year, and won €8.5 billion. The entity that released the figures revealed that slots suffered the biggest setback in 2018, totalling €577,9 million and a 39.3% fall in revenues.
Land-based slots registered a 42.4% fall to €503.7 million in 2018. Moreover, online slots also registered a revenue decline of 4.8% to €74.1 million.
It is believed that these numbers were driven by the introduction of new regulations, which came into effect in August 2017. The country introduced more regulations in March 2018, largely affecting the overall performance of the industry throughout the whole year.
On the other hand, table games increased revenues by 8% to €89.8 million, mainly from land-based casinos. The online segment totalled €6.8 million, which is more than a 150% increase from 2017.
The government increased taxes on gambling
Last month, Czech Finance Minister Alena Schillerová announced that the government approved a taxation package that includes gambling. This is part of a measure to counter-attack the increasing living standards in the country.
The changes, effective from January 1, 2020, come from a recommendation made years ago by the Health Ministry. International bodies like the World Health Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also recommended it.
This measure aims to bring taxes of certain sectors, like gambling, into line with recent changes in the Czech economy. “Our country has made considerable progress in combating addiction in recent years. We all remember the weed-filled housing estate or the smoky restaurants and public areas. Even in 2012, there were 75,000 vending machines in our country and 7,500 gaming rooms,” explained the Finance Minister.
