Czechia

The Czech Gambling Act (Act No. 186/2016 Coll.), effective 1 January 2017, established a licensing regime requiring operators to hold both an initial licence (general fitness) and a basic licence for each specific game type (e.g. odds betting, totalisator), issued by the Ministry of Finance; operators must be based in the Czech Republic or another EU/EEA member state.

Online sports betting and both fixed-odds and pool betting on horse racing are explicitly regulated under these licences, with mandatory player registration and a national self-exclusion register. Unlicensed offshore operators are added to a Ministry of Finance blacklist, and internet providers are legally obliged to block listed sites — upheld by the Constitutional Court; the Customs Administration assists enforcement, including blocking blacklisted apps and payment accounts since the 2024 amendment package.

Prediction markets remain unaddressed by specific Czech law and sit in a grey area (no explicit permission and no explicit prohibition). Minimum betting age 18.

Czech Republic betting sites endured years of legal uncertainty due to outdated laws and various half-hearted attempts to change the regulatory environment. That mostly came to an end at the beginning of 2017 after new laws enacted in 2016 took effect on 1 January, 2017. Betting sites in the Czech Republic must acquire licenses in order to serve customers.

Overall, the Czech Republic can be considered a gambling-friendly nation. We have a large number of land-based casinos to choose from, untold numbers of slot machines and now legislation that addresses Czech gambling sites.

Czech Republic Betting Sites

The sites recommended here hold a Czech gambling licence, which is what the Gambling Act requires: betting sites in the Czech Republic must acquire licences in order to serve customers, and the Ministry of Finance publishes the list of legal operators. A licence from another European regulator is not a substitute, because operators that are not on that list are blacklisted and blocked by internet providers.

Even better: the sites on this page cater to residents with Czech language software and the ability to accept koruna deposits. The operators know full well that the Czechs are a gambling people and go to great lengths to cater to the country. For all intents and purposes, these are full-fledged Czech betting sites.

Czech Gambling Law

The legal situation in the Czech Republic has improved dramatically in recent years. What was once a quagmire of outdated laws, rejected bills and pressure from the EU to open the market to free trade is now a regulatory environment that offers clarify for operators interested in serving the Czech market legally. Czech lawmakers seem satisfied with the new law, the EU has been satisfied in its demands for an open market and operators now have a clear path forward if they wish to pursue the Czech market.

Getting to this point was a long and winding road that began with a 2012 piece of legislation seeking to regulate online betting in the Czech Republic. Operators and the EU found the bill unsatisfactory as it made it unreasonably difficult for anyone to obtain a remote gaming license. One of the requirements of that bill was for potential operators to have a physical presence within the country.

Operators didn’t like the bill because of its prohibitive nature. The EU didn’t like the bill because it interfered with European Union treaties on fair trade and competition. The bill was ultimately struck down by lawmakers in 2013.

That same year, they began drafting a new bill in the hopes of streamlining the licensing process and bringing greater freedom to the industry. The bill was delayed in 2014 and would later be replaced with the legislation that went into effect in January of 2017.

Previous legislation did allow for the licensing of online sportsbooks, and those longtime local bookmakers continue to serve the market to this day alongside newer licensed entrants such as MerkurXtip, which holds a Ministry of Finance authorisation. These Czech betting sites were originally limited to just sports betting and lottery games, but the new law has opened the door for other forms of gaming such as casino games and online poker.

Czech Bookmakers

The long-established Czech bookmakers are www.allwyn.cz (formerly Sazka), www.synottip.cz, www.chance.cz, www.ifortuna.cz and www.tipsport.cz.

These websites offer a pretty decent experience but there’s a serious lack of competition in the country. Synottip.cz offers online poker but the tables suffer from a serious lack of action due to the site only being available in Czech.

We do expect the above Czech bookmakers to improve in light of the new gaming laws that offer greater freedom and create a more competitive market.

Czech betting sites also face the challenge of high rates of taxation. Domestic operations are heavily taxed while their foreign competitors have the advantage of much lower taxes. The combination of high taxes and restrictions on what they may offer put domestic sites at a significant disadvantage.

The local operators do have the advantages of name recognition, a more intimate understanding of the market and physical betting shops in the Czech Republic. Customers of the local sites can visit any local betting shop to make deposits and receive withdrawals – and many citizens find that both comforting and convenient.

Today’s Czech gambling laws originate from the Gambling Act (Act No. 186/2016 Coll.), passed in 2016. That bill has since been signed into law and went into effect on 1 January, 2017.

The new law has opened the market to operators headquartered in other EU countries and revamped current tax rates. The tax rates are on the high side with a 30% tax on sports betting (raised from 23% in 2024), a 35% tax on lotteries and as much as 35% on casino-style technical games. Those rates are imposed on top of the standard corporate tax rate of 21%. The bill also gives regulators more power to order internet service providers to block access to unlicensed gambling websites.

The new gaming laws were implemented so quickly that it gave international operators almost no time to apply for licenses or even go into compliance. This led to an exodus of international betting sites who decided to play it safe, leave the market and apply for licenses later. Some operators have chosen not to leave, and internet blocking measures are now in force: the Ministry of Finance keeps the statutory list of unauthorised internet games, and internet access providers are required to block the websites on it.

The Czech Republic has continued to tweak its laws since the legislation was enacted in 2017. Additional regulations have included the introduction of a burdensome requirement that Czech betting sites offer individually set self-limiting measures, such as bet and loss limits, for customers. The government later cracked down on betting bonuses, and the law now prohibits licensed operators from offering so-called risk bonuses and in-kind inducements, while other promotions remain tightly regulated.

International operators have since entered the regime: newer licensed entrants such as MerkurXtip serve the market alongside the long-established Czech bookmakers. The licensing and tax burden remains heavy, which is why take-up was slow.

Many issues have yet to be ironed out completely, but the Czech Republic is doing better than some other countries in addressing online betting. Hopefully, the government learns to let go a little and let the market flourish. Doing so would put competitive forces to work in benefit of the customers.

Koruna Banking Methods

Licensed Czech betting websites accept Czech koruna deposits and allow you to place your bets in koruna.

You can fund your betting account with a variety of banking options that are easy to use. Credit and debit cards are accepted along with major e-wallets such as Neteller and Skrill. Most sites also accept eKonto, bank wires and a variety of prepaid gift cards.

Licensed operators pay out winners via electronic banking methods and e-wallet credit, and also give you the ability to stop by a local betting shop to pick up your cash.