Lottery gambling is legal in the Czech Republic and is regulated under Act No. 186/2016 on Gambling, which took effect on January 1, 2017 (1). The Ministry of Finance serves as the primary regulatory authority for gambling, with the Customs Administration and the Ministry of Finance responsible for supervising compliance with the Gambling Act (2).
The Gambling Act defines gambling as a game of chance, betting, or lottery in which participants wager a bet with no guaranteed return, and the win or loss is entirely or partly subject to chance or unknown circumstances (1). The lottery prize fund must neither drop below 40 percent nor exceed 80 percent of game receipts, with the probability of winning in cash prize, in-kind, or instant win lotteries not dropping below 1:200 (1).
"Places where lotteries can be operated, are not regulated in the Czech Republic. The availability of lotteries is high; lotteries can be played at almost 8 thousand terminals in newsagents, at branches of the Czech Post and at cash desks of selected supermarkets."
Since January 1, 2020, two gambling tax rates have been imposed in the Czech Republic: 23 percent for fixed-odds betting, bingo, live games, raffles and small-scale tournaments, and 35 percent for lotteries and technical games (2). As of January 1, 2023, five companies were licensed to operate online lotteries in the Czech Republic, with the number increasing in recent years (2).
Source:
https://www.mfcr.cz/assets/cs/media/Zak_2016-186_anglicka-verze-zakona-o-hazardnich-hrach-ACT-No-186-2016-on-gambling.pdf
https://www.drogy-info.cz/en/publications/annual-reports/report-on-gambling-in-the-czech-republic-2023/
Last updated: 16-10-2025 Disclaimer: This article does not provide legal advice. If you need legal advice, please contact an attorney directly.
