Black market costing Czechia $15.9m in lost monthly tax revenue

The Czech Republic is losing over CZK330 million ($15.9 million) in tax revenue each month to illegal gambling operators, according to new studies, as consumers unknowingly gamble with unlicensed websites.

The data was reported by the 2026 Black Book of Illegal Gambling by Robert Klobuck of the Sociological Institute at the Slovak Academy of Sciences. It also included economic analysis from the Centre for Economic and Market Analysis, led by its Executive Director Aleš Rod.

Findings in the economic analysis suggested Czech players lost approximately CZK14.5 billion every year gambling with unlicensed operators. This represented up to a CAZK4.0 billion loss to the state’s public budget as between CZK2.9 billion and CZK3.6 billion was being lost in tax annually, as well as up to CZK500 million in municipality losses.

However, the report estimated the cost to public finances could be even higher due to additional losses in income tax and employee contributions also being impacted by illegal gambling activities.

“Illegal gambling is not only a social problem, but also a fundamental economic problem,” Rod said. “This uncollected public revenue obviously has its price. It could finance sports, culture, addiction prevention, reduce debt, or remain in the pockets of taxpayers if it stayed in the official economy with legal operators. Instead, it ends up in the hands of anonymous operators based beyond the reach of Czech authorities in tax havens.

“Thanks to higher profitability, illegal operators can provide more aggressive marketing and increase their market share at the expense of law-abiding operators. This problem is constantly worsening as the share of the online market increases.”

Illegal gambling operators in Prague

Primary concerns in the Black Book of Illegal Gambling related to the volume of consumers gambling illegally. The report estimated that 400,000 players knowingly gamble with unlicensed operators, while another 400,000 were unable to determine whether their operator was legal or illegal.

The three most popular illegal brands were searched for over 111,000 times from Czech browsers in a single month, according to the combined data. Today there are 27 legal operators in the country compared to 1,113 known illegal brands that specifically target Czech players.

“This clearly shows the extent of the problem and the need for effective measures against the black market,” said Petr Čelechovský of locally licensed operator Bonver Win.

The issue, however, was not limited to online gambling. The report also made reference to how ongoing inspections of gambling venues nationwide had uncovered various illegal operations, especially in areas where municipalities and cities had banned legal settings. One such area is Prague, which implemented a blanket ban on slot machines in early 2024.

“Illegal operation in brick-and-mortar gambling establishments is still a reality,” Čelechovský said. “These are places where the law is broken, municipal regulations are circumvented and often other forms of crime occur. It is therefore very important for the state to get involved in controlling these operations, ideally by tightening legislation against these entities, which could significantly help the Customs Administration in enforcement.”

Calls for change to Czech regulation

Čelechovský was not alone in calling for changes in regulation to better protect players and support legal operators. Industry trade body, the Institute for the Regulation of Gambling (IPRH) also said it wanted the two studies to serve as a basis for “effective” government action.

“Based on the data, we can see that the current repressive measures are not enough,” IPRH Director Jan Řehola said. “It is necessary to strengthen the technological tools for blocking illegal websites, simplify cooperation with banks and payment service providers and at the same time systematically raise public awareness of the risks of illegal gambling.”

Questions were also raised over the effectiveness of the national self-exclusion register. Studies found 66.2% of previously self-excluded online users had played with illegal operators occasionally or regularly.

Řehola highlighted crypto casinos and social media trends had “fundamentally” changed the black market and the market needed fnew regulation to address these concerns.

“This is an environment that is virtually beyond any control and often attracts children and young people,” he said. “They encounter gambling in online communities or on gaming servers before they reach the age of majority.”