The Czech Constitutional Court has ruled that controversial laws regarding ISP-blocking of unlicensed online gambling websites are constitutional. The regulations were introduced at the start of this year as part of major changes to laws regarding internet gaming in the Czech Republic. Operators wishing to offer gambling services in the county must first obtain a licence or face prosecution from the national regulator and police. Betting firms now also face tighter licensing processes, in addition to a new tax rate of 23% on gross gaming revenue for sports betting and lotteries and 35% for RNG casino games, on top of…

Thursday was not a particularly fun day for partypoker customers in the Czech Republic. Envisioning a fun – and hopefully profitable – session of online poker, players logged into their accounts only to find out that they are no longer allowed to play. Fortunately, it was not because of anything they did wrong, but because partypoker is withdrawing, at least temporarily, from the Czech market in response to the recent changes in the country’s gambling laws. It was Czech poker site PokerArena that first shined a light on the issue yesterday, posting a screenshot of the message players were greeted…

Bloomberg – The Czech government is preparing to tighten control over the gaming industry and boost its contribution to tax revenue as billionaire Finance Minister Andrej Babis seeks to keep the budget deficit in check. The ministry is drafting a bill that would raise tax receipts by allowing online gaming for all operators in the Czech Republic, Deputy Finance Minister Ondrej Zavodsky said in an interview. The bill, to be valid as of 2016, would also set separate tax rates for different types of gaming, he said. Babis’s ministry is searching for new sources of budget revenue as it seeks…