International: Czech Republic to offer online licenses

iGamingBusiness reported Saturday that the Czech Republic will begin issuing licenses to Czech companies interested in operating online-gambling sites. According to the trade journal's press release, the Czech government will begin offering the licenses Monday, Jan. 5 at the earliest.

iGamingBusiness said that Czech brick-and-mortar sports book Fortuna Group led the fight for legalization, which legislators worried would encourage underage and problem gambling.

However, Fortuna's business model - which includes stringent restrictions on both age verification and monetary transactions - finally assuaged officials’ fears.

According to Fortuna spokesman Tomas Bahnik, the sports book will require all online players to register with a land-based casino to ensure that they are not underage. All transactions, meanwhile, will take place through the use of “payment cards,” obviating the possibility of addictive gamblers squandering their savings.

"We don't support gambling and gamblers, and we don't want people to become addicted to Internet betting," Bahnik said. "That's something foreign companies don't do."

Bahnik also drew a contrast between Fortuna and outside gambling sites, which he said "basically... operate in (the Czech Republic) illegally," and he estimated that his company loses millions of euros every year to non-Czech operators.

"There are no legal restrictions," he said. "So we want to have the same opportunities as foreign companies."

PokerListings.com reported that Fortuna hopes to obtain a license in the upcoming week.

"I hope we will be prepared and ready to start right from (Jan. 5)," Bahnik said.

- Phill Provance
phill.provance@gamblingplanet.org

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05-Jan-2009, 07:07

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