Casino First for Czech Republic

Czech Republic gears itself up for legalized online gambling with the launch of the country’s first online casino.

The winds of change are blowing and online gambling is set to be legalized in the Czech Republic. Ahead of this news, Czech lottery company Sazka has unveiled plans to establish a fun-gaming online casino.

These moves come hot on the heels of a parliamentary vote scheduled for the last quarter of 2008. If all goes according to plan then online gambling will emerge from the shadows. Sazka realizes that once the floodgates have been opened, the market will be inundated with foreign online casinos – that’s why they’re giving the public a taste of what’s to come.

All the usual suspects in roulette, texas hold’em, blackjack and poker will be made available – for money gambling. At present there are plans in the pipeline for fun versions of these games but Sazka – which already launched E-Sazka.cz – has said that they’re prepping people for the online gambling vibe. The bets will be placed at physical POS (point of sale) spots with identifiers. As soon as the law is passed the websites will be converted for betting purposes.

Czech Lottery Operator Launches Online Casino Ahead of Possible Regulation

SAZKA, the oldest and largest lottery operator in the Czech Republic, has launched a play-for-fun online casino ahead of proposed changes to the country’s lottery law which it hopes will legalise and regulate online gambling.

With the proposal expected to be presented to parliament by the end of this year, SAZKA has recently focused heavily on its online offering in order to benefit from its position and brand recognition in the Czech marketplace, ahead of a potential influx of foreign competitors.

The new site will initially offer roulette, blackjack, texas hold’em and other poker games on a play-for-fun basis, with the ability to immediately switch to real-money gaming should the Czech government make the changes necessary to permit online gaming.

If no changes to the Czech lottery law are forthcoming, the site will continue to serve as a play-for-fun gaming portal. Earlier this year the company launched e-sazka.cz, a site allowing customers to prepare bets online which can then be placed at retail points of sale using a bet identifier or barcode.

Last year SAZKA reported total revenues of CZK10.4 billion (€422.48 million) with a net profit of CZK1.4 billion (€56.87 million). The company donated over CZK1 billion to social causes during the year, CZK285 million more than was required under Czech lottery law.