Partypoker becomes second international operator in the Czech Republic having obtained a gambling license in the country. The GVC Holdings gambling site is only the second licensed online poker room in the Czech Republic.
PokerStars used existing subsidiary TSG Interactive plc in Malta for their license application granted on Jan. 28, 2017. PartyPoker obtained theirs through the local brick-and-mortar King’s Casino in Rozvadov.
Now listed as the operator for online services on partypoker.cz, King’s Casino has long been a partner of PartyPoker. King’s also previously hosted the MILLIONS Germany and Grand Prix events. King’s will also play host to WPT Germany in August next year as part of PartyPoker’s recently announced 2019 partnership with WPT.
Background: Gambling Industry in the Czech Republic
Gambling regulation in the Czech Republic dates back to the 1990s with the Lotteries Act, but wasn’t strictly regulated until much later. Online betting became legal in the country in 2009 but allowed only domestic operators and did not put systematic regulations in place.
Things began to change in 2014 when the anti-online gambling Czech Finance Minister Andrej Babiš decided to regulate online gaming. This was to deter residents from gambling on unregulated sites that lacked consumer protections.
According to PRO, the 2014 bill was intended to pave the way to strictly control “hardcore gaming like slots or table games”. High tax rates accompanied the regulations to make the market less appealing to potential operators.
Regulations Become Law
Fast-forward to 2016 and Czech President Miloš Zeman signed the new gambling regulations into law with an effective date of January 1, 2017. The new law regulated all forms of including casino, slot machines, sports betting, lotteries and bingo. Bet amounts and winnings in casino games were restricted to a maximum of CZK1,000 ($43.45) and CZK50,000 ($2,172.25) respectively. There were also other constraints that were placed on poker operators.
Under the regulations, restrictions were placed on poker offerings. This including freerolls, bonus offers, free bets, and use of jackpot elements like those found in Spin & Go’s. In addition, tournaments could not rake less than five percent. Prize pool guarantees cannot be offered until at least 50% of the guarantee is collected. Operators can now offer variations like satellites, zoom, shootouts, and knockouts, but those too were previously prohibited.