Prague adopts a divisive ban on gaming machines citywide

According to recent reports, the municipal council of Prague in the Czech Republic has given its approval to a contentious proposal that will, as of the beginning of the year, make it illegal for local businesses to operate any newly purchased electronic gambling devices, including slot machines.

According to a report that was published on Monday in the online news domain at ExPats.cz, the city-wide edict does not concern non-electronic titles or live casino table games such as roulette and blackjack. In addition, licensed venues are going to be given a three-year window in which they can decommission any existing electronic machines.

Lessening likelihood:

After beginning the previous decade with about 16,000 such units, the largest city in the Czech Republic is now home to around 4,000 electronic gaming machines. Prior to that, the city was home to almost 16,000. Reportedly, local councillor Hana Kordova Marvanova explained that Prague currently has 101 gambling-friendly properties, but that the majority of these will very likely close due to the fact that they have been almost exclusively focused on the provision of soon-to-be-banned entertainments to this point.

Anxiety caused by duties:

According to reports, the historic city of Prague collected over $34.2 million in aggregated gambling taxes in the previous year. Prague is home to approximately 2.6 million people. ExPats.cz detailed that the prohibition was also ratified despite concerted criticism from opposition political parties. These parties argued that such a move would see this windfall decrease by at least $19.5 million, which would directly harm a multitude of initiatives aimed at supporting a raft of local cultural, social, and educational programs. However, the prohibition was ratified regardless of this criticism.

However, Kordova Marvanova is said to have stated earlier that she would be willing to collaborate with the other councillors and the administration of Mayor Zdenek Hrib on the development of strategies to alleviate this anticipated shortfall through the redistribution of funds from the city's existing budget. This was reportedly stated earlier.

Partial proposition:

After rejecting an earlier suggestion that certain districts or venues be allowed to keep their units in order to prevent an expected suburban proliferation, the representative reportedly declared that the 65-seat city council had finally voted to ban electronic gaming machines in order to assist in the reduction of problem gambling. This came after the council had initially rejected the suggestion.

Kordova Marvanova reportedly told ExPats.cz…

"I am unable to propose a policy that would violate the ability of businesses to compete with one another."