The End of Gambling in Prague?

A new proposal by the city’s mayor asks for a “zero tolerance” policy on casinos

Dave Park

Written by Dave Park Published on 27.07.2015 09:24:17 (updated on 27.07.2015) Reading time: 1 minute

A plan to partially restrict gambling in Prague earlier this year wasn’t approved by local government parties, but a new proposal from Prague mayor Adriana Krnáčová is set to come down even harder on local casinos.

According to the new proposal, gambling will be restricted only to an airport casino and luxury hotels. All other casinos in Prague – including slot machines at gambling bars (Herna) throughout the city – will be removed.

“In September, we will announce a zero tolerance policy for gambling,” Krnáčová told Blesk.cz.

Only 4- or 5-star hotels with over 400 beds would be allowed to have a casino, which amounts to 23 locations in Prague.

The reasoning behind this is that these locations would cater only to tourists, and wouldn’t affect local citizens.

Throughout the country, Czechs spent 138 billion CZK on gambling last year; of that, the net loss was 31 billion CZK, according to a new government study reported by iDnes

The new proposal will be voted on in September.

If the proposal passes, no new casinos will be able to start business in Prague from October 1.

Current casinos and gambling bars – which number over 300 in Prague – will then have up to two years to change their business models.

It might seem like wishful thinking. But if the proposal passes, Prague streets could soon see a big change.

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