Finance Ministry announces 30 percent cut in number of casinos

The finance ministry has announced that the number of casinos operating in the Czech Republic will be cut by 30 percent from the start of next year as part of a clampdown on the sector - the ministry made the announcement on Thursday. In a news release the ministry stated that it had cancelled authorisation for two firms, which will result in the closing of some 52 sites. According to the report, that will leave 129 casinos in operation.

The ministry refrained from naming the two casino companies that will have their clearance rescinded, or the reasons for the move, but a clampdown on the sector has been expected since 2004. That year in August, a grenade attack on an Israeli-owned casino in the centre of Prague wounded eighteen people.