Lower house passes bill raising taxes on gambling

The lower house of Parliament has agreed to raise taxes on gambling from the current 20 percent to 28 percent. According to news website iDnes, among the most affected will be venues offering gambling machines such as video lottery terminals. Under the ruling coalition proposal, tax on lotteries and betting agencies will also increase, to 23 percent.

Photo: Barbora Kmentová

The ruling coalition of the Social Democrats, ANO and Christian Democrats have pushed through legislation raising taxes for gambling venues as well as lottery and betting agencies. The bill, put forward by Social Democrat MP Vacláv Votava, received support from 138 of 140 MPs present; two MPs abstained from voting.

The hike in taxes, which will also see a rise in the daily fee per terminal for proprietors from the current 55 to 100 crowns, should translate into 1.8 to 2.2 billion crowns in the state budget, reported iDnes. The development, therefore, is good news for the country’s finance minister, Andrej Babiš. According to iDnes, under the legislation, tax revenues on gambling and other games of chance will be divided 63 percent to 37 percent between the state and individual municipalities. But the bill must still pass in the Senate, and receive a signature from the president before it is signed into law.