Czechia court gives Prague the right to diverge from national gambling laws

The Constitutional Court of Czechia has declared that Prague City Council has the right to diverge from national gambling laws to apply its own regulations in the capital. 

The allowance means Prague can apply specific laws for its needs, while other city jurisdictions can also ban or restrict live gambling. 

Prague representatives believe their case is a valid and reasonable one, but critics insist a fragmented gambling framework will pose challenges for the industry and impact competition. 

Four years ago, a ‘city ordinance’ was established, prohibiting slot machines across all of Prague, but live dealer games like roulette and poker, within casino venues, were approved. 

Each municipal district in the city was given further autonomy to restrict or ban live dealer games, with 41 opting to end the activities while the other 16 chose to place certain time restrictions on when live dealer games can take place within approved venues. 

In 2023, the Ministry of the Interior in the landlocked Central European nation allied with the Czech Competition Authority to rule that Prague’s regulations were discriminatory to gambling license holders. They ordered the City Council to end the provisions, with a temporary suspension applied.

The Interior Ministry wanted the capital to be bound by the same national laws, blaming Prague for creating market distortion, but overall, the Constitutional Court has now lifted the suspension and approved Prague’s divergence.

However, the approval was not universal. 

Justice Milan Hulmak confirmed his objections in a written submission, questioning the rationale behind the decision.

“I observe no logical or objective factors on Prague’s live gambling regulation map that could justify the complete regulatory divergence between different city regions,” he stated.

Prague City Council insists the ruling validates its approach to combating problem gambling, with a need to make area-specific interventions because “standard regulations fail to recognise the distinct qualities of each neighbourhood, as certain districts face severe problems related to gambling addiction and criminal activity.”

Czechia’s Competition Authority has predicted regulatory problems for the gambling industry due to the situation of having to navigate a contrasting, fragmented legal framework. It further stated that operators are reviewing their locations and activities. 

The ruling also paves the way for other cities and jurisdictions to challenge the national government’s authority to seek similar bespoke gambling regulations for the respective localities.

Image credit: Grok/X

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