Official language: Czech
Population: 10,424,926
Currency: Czech Koruna (CZK)

Current Exchange Rate
1 EUR = 25.8469 CZK
1 GBP = 27.6155 CZK
1 USD = 17.4638 CZK

Sports Betting in Czech Republic
Czechs love to gamble on sports, especially football. Betting shops have been legal for years, and are found all over the country. Popular betting shop operators in the Czech Republic are Szaka, Fortuna, Chance, Synop Tip, and TipSport.

Szaka is the largest, and has has been in operation since 1956. One big difference between it and other sportsbook companies is that Szaka is state-run, and gives 90% of its profits to public organizations and funds. It also controls the state lottery system. Since March of 2003, Szaka has posted the odds offered by its competitors, letting players find the best available bet for the match they want to wager on.

Online Sports Betting in Czech Republic
In recent years, Fortuna has been lobbying to legalize online gambling in the Czech Republic. Thanks to their efforts, Czech online sportsbooks are now available. The government gave out licenses to the top five bookmakers mentioned above. There are strict rules which limit how Czech sportsbooks online can operate. The most important rule is that all members of Czech online bookmakers must first visit a land-based office of that sportsbook to sign up before they can play on the internet. This reduces the chances of underage players placing bets.

The Czech government will soon be opening the laws even further to allow all forms of internet betting. Szaka, in anticipation of the new legislation, has recently added a casino section to their website. For now, members can only play for fun, but once the law is passed, their online casino will go live and accept real-money wagers.