Bill on a fast track to approval
Lawmakers in the Czech Republic have passed a bill that has the potential to raise the taxes winning bettors must pay by more than 20 percent, and almost 30 percent when it comes to slot win.
The Reuters news agency reports that the bill, which must advance through the lower and upper houses of parliament, would raise the taxes on lottery and sport betting win from 20 percent to 23 percent. The taxes on slot machine win would go up 28 percent. An additional daily tax on each slot machine would rise to 80 crowns from 55.
According to CalvinAyre.com, legislators were told that Czechs spent 138 billion crowns ($5.63 billion) on gambling in 2014, more than half of it on mechanical and video slots. That number accounted for about 2.5 percent of the country’s GDP.
The recent measure, if approved, could raise tax revenues by 2 billion crowns. The website iGaming.com indicated the bill, which also must be signed by the president, “seems certain to become law.” The measure, if passed, could take effect in 2016.
The Czech government is also considering a new gambling regime to oversee online gambling, slot machines and lotteries in the coming months.
