Taxes drive Czech Republic casino raids

She said the operators owe the state almost US$ 976,010 in lottery payments and direct and indirect taxes, and that further raids will be carried out. Ježková said the confiscated Czech and foreign cash and 19 gambling machines could cover a big part of the debt. Deputy Finance Minister Ondřej Závodský, who was present in the raid in Prague, said no one need be accused in the case if the tax arrears are collected.

The Happy Day company, whose casino in Prague was raided, has been active in the Czech Republic since 1992 and it now has 11 branches in various towns. Board chairman Antonín Šimek is Belize's honorary consul. The company's profit rose by five million to US$ 854,008 last year. Yields rose by 6 percent to US$ 4,182,200 in the same period.

Czechs gambled away some US$ 6 billion last year, US$ 2.5 billion of the total on interactive video-lottery terminals, according to statistics. Of the total, US$ 4.6 billion were returned to the players, the operators had US$ 1.39 billion.

Many Czech towns and villages have tightened the struggle against gambling, also pressed by civic associations and initiatives. The Finance Ministry registered almost 59,000 technical gambling facilities as from end-March, which is about 2,000 fewer than as from end-2013.