The Czech Republic has announced that a self-exclusion registry for gamblers will be introduced in mid-2020. The program will block a range of individuals, both voluntarily and involuntarily, according to Finance Minister Alena Schillerová.
“We are moving forward in setting up the exclusion register,” Schillerová said. “We will publish technical documentation at the turn of this year and we will start testing after the new year so that this register will be operational in mid-2020.”
Schillerová added that the Czech Republic’s 2017 gambling act, which regulated online gaming in the country, had helped to curb black market operators who want to attract Czech customers.
“The gambling law has changed it all,” Schillerová said. “It opened up the market to foreign operators, which allowed their regulation and proper taxation. It introduced mandatory registration of all online gambling players, thus preventing the participation of persons under 18 in gambling, it also brought important measures for their protection and helped to reduce the black market.
“Only in the first month following the law coming into effect, 90% of illegal online gambling has disappeared from the Czech market. A total of 121 websites have already been blocked.”
The exclusion program will block people on welfare, those who are bankrupt, people who have received treatment for gambling addiction as well as players that voluntarily excluded. Anyone listed would be unable to gamble either online or in person, according to reports.
Schillerová said regulating iGaming is a particular challenge for the Czech government. “Despite the fundamental progress in setting up modern gambling regulation and enforcing the rules of the game, we naturally did not rest on our laurels, especially the internet,” she said. “Responding to new trends in this area is another challenge for us.”
Jarmila Vedralová, national drug policy coordinator, has said she’s concerned about the prevalence of online gambling among young men.
“Currently, all indicators of online gambling are growing, the proportion of online players among pathological players is increasing, and online sports betting is the biggest problem,” Vedralová said. “Young men are particularly at risk of problem gambling in the online environment. It is this dependency that our next steps are targeting. It is not a matter of deleting new technologies from life, but it is important to find a balance in their use.”
