Czech Republic iGaming Marketing Agency

An iGaming marketing agency in the Czech Republic plans and runs player acquisition, SEO, affiliate, CRM and sponsorship work for operators that hold a Czech basic permit from the Ministry of Finance. A licensed operator can legally offer online betting, online casino (technical and live games), lotteries and bingo to adults, and can advertise them, as long as every ad carries the 18+ notice and the Ministry of Finance addiction warning and is not aimed at minors (Act No. 40/1995 Coll., § 5j).

Czechia regulates online gambling through a single national framework. Act No. 186/2016 Coll. on Gambling has applied since 1 January 2017, the Ministry of Finance issues permits and supervises operators (MF, Department 73), and the same department runs the register of excluded persons (RVO) and the list of blocked websites. The Ministry's whitelist valid on 1 October 2026 names 47 licensed operators, 29 of them with at least one internet permit. That is a small, defined field of competitors, and every one of them plays by the same rulebook.

Basher is an iGaming marketing agency founded in 2020 in Lima, Peru, with offices in Lima, Rotterdam and Gold Coast, and named AffPapa Agency of the Year 2025. We work only with licensed operators. In Czechia that means brands on the Ministry of Finance whitelist or applicants going through the permit process. We do not market brands that appear on the blocked list or that serve Czech players without a Czech permit.

Market snapshot 2026

Regulator: Ministry of Finance of the Czech Republic, Department 73 (Procesní agendy a regulace hazardu), which decides permits, supervises compliance, keeps the RVO and the list of unauthorised internet games (MF)
Advertising supervisor: customs offices oversee advertising, promotion and sponsorship of gambling (Act No. 40/1995 Coll., § 7)
Governing law: Act No. 186/2016 Coll. on Gambling (consolidated wording in force from 1 October 2025), Act No. 187/2016 Coll. on Gambling Tax, Act No. 40/1995 Coll. on the Regulation of Advertising
Game types that can run online: lottery, fixed-odds betting, totalisator, bingo, technical games and live games (§ 3 and § 73)
Licensed operators on 1 October 2026: 47 in total, 29 with an internet permit, 11 with online fixed-odds betting, 28 with online technical games and 22 with online live games (MF whitelist)
Blocked websites: the machine-readable file published with the list valid on 30 September 2026 shows 3,519 websites, 13 apps and 4 payment accounts with no removal date (MF blocked list)
Minimum age: 18 (§ 7)
Self-exclusion: the RVO register plus a 48-hour panic button available at every operator since 1 July 2024 (MF)

Item	Rule	Source
Tax on online technical games and lotteries	35%	Act 187/2016, annex
Tax on online betting, totalisator, bingo and live games	30%	Act 187/2016, annex
Tax base	Stakes received minus winnings paid and stakes returned	§ 3
Tax period	Calendar quarter	§ 6
Basic permit term	Up to 6 years	§ 100
Operator equity	At least CZK 50 million	§ 6
Bond	CZK 20 million (group 1) up to CZK 300 million (group 4)	§ 95

Why this market is hard to enter

The first hurdle is the licence itself. An operator needs an initial permit and then a basic permit for each game type, and neither can be transferred or passed to a legal successor (§ 85). Only legal persons seated in the Czech Republic, another EU member state or the EEA qualify, and they need a supervisory body, audited accounts, transparent ownership and at least CZK 50 million in equity (§ 6). Foreign groups do get through: the whitelist includes a Malta-seated and a Bratislava-seated licensee. Marketing usually starts long before launch, so the plan has to be ready when the permit lands.

The second hurdle is localisation. Online games may run only through a website or app available at least in Czech, and the game server must sit in the EU or EEA (§ 74). All information connected with operating a game must be easy to find in Czech (§ 9). Translated landing pages are not enough; terms, bonus rules and responsible gambling copy all need native Czech.

The third hurdle is friction at sign-up. Registration requires verified identity and age, and the player must either set or decline each self-limit before the account opens (§ 17b). Online accounts can only be funded from a registered payment account or instrument held by the player at an EU or EEA payment provider (§ 17e). Every extra step costs conversion, so acquisition cost has to be measured to a verified, funded account rather than to a click or form fill.

How Basher executes here

For Czechia we would lead with four services:

SEO and content. A Czech-language content architecture built on what the law actually lets a licensed brand say, with responsible gambling and game-rule pages that are useful enough to earn links. See our iGaming SEO service.
Affiliate marketing. Affiliates that promote a licensed brand are still bound by the Advertising Act, and a paid publisher is an advertiser in its own right. We vet partners against the blocked list and the § 5j rules before any deal. See affiliate marketing.
Managed CRM. Journeys that respect self-limits, RVO status and the panic button, with no messaging that pushes a player to drop or loosen a limit.
Sponsorships and events. Sport and event sponsorship counts as advertising under the Advertising Act (§ 1), so activation, signage and creative follow the same 18+ and warning rules. See sponsorships.

Media buying, PR and analytics sit around these four. Analytics matters more than usual here because funnel losses at identity checks and payment-account registration decide whether a channel pays back.

Channel mix that works in the Czech Republic

We do not publish percentage splits or CPA benchmarks for Czechia because we have no Czech campaign data to back them. What we can say from the rules:

Search is the main demand channel. Czech players searching for a brand or product should land on a licensed site, and organic visibility for licensed brands also crowds out the domains the Ministry has blocked.
Paid search and paid social depend on platform gambling policies as well as Czech law. Ads must carry the 18+ notice and the exact Ministry warning, which affects formats where text is short.
Affiliates work when they are audited. A publisher that also lists unlicensed brands creates risk for the licensed operator it promotes.
Sponsorship and events suit sportsbooks and casino brands that want reach without targeted media. They need the same warnings and must avoid anything aimed at under-18s.
CRM carries retention. Bonuses that encourage risky play are prohibited (§ 7(3)), so offers are built around value and clarity, not pressure.

Regulatory + compliance considerations

Advertising. Gambling ads may not suggest that gambling can be a source of income comparable to employment or business, may not be aimed at people under 18, and must include a statement that under-18s may not take part plus the visible warning "Ministerstvo financí varuje: Účastí na hazardní hře může vzniknout závislost!" (§ 5j). Advertising a gambling game that is prohibited under the Gambling Act is banned outright (§ 2), and the advertiser must keep a copy of each ad for at least five years (§ 7a).

Self-limits. For online games the operator must let players set daily and monthly stake limits, daily and monthly net-loss limits, a monthly login cap, a daily session-time cap and a cool-off after logout (§ 15). The operator must not encourage a player to refuse or loosen a limit, and a loosened limit only takes effect after a delay (§ 14).

RVO and panic button. A person entered in the register of excluded persons cannot open an account, deposit or bet (§ 17). Entry is for an indefinite period and removal can be requested only after one year, while the panic button blocks play at all operators for 48 hours (MF). Operators connect to the RVO through the Ministry's AISG system (MF). CRM audiences must be refreshed against these flags before every send.

Blocking. Internet access providers must block a listed website no later than 15 days after it is entered on the list (§ 84a), payment providers must stop transactions to listed accounts (§ 84b), and websites or app stores must stop distributing listed apps (§ 84c).

Other regulated European markets

Basher has an office in Rotterdam (Netherlands) and runs the same licensed-only playbook in the markets next to Czech Republic: Poland, Germany, Romania, Greece, the Baltics. The cross-border view, with every regulator side by side, is on our regulated Europe page, and the full service line-up for operators is on the iGaming marketing agency services page.

FAQs

What does an iGaming agency in the Czech Republic do for a licensed operator?

It plans and runs acquisition and retention for a brand that holds a Czech basic permit: Czech-language SEO and content, audited affiliate programmes, paid media, CRM that respects self-limits and the RVO, and sponsorships that carry the legally required warnings. Basher works only with licensed operators and applicants.

Is online casino legal in the Czech Republic?

Yes, for licensed operators. Technical games and live games may be offered online under a basic permit (§ 73). On 1 October 2026, 28 operators held an online technical games permit and 22 an online live games permit (MF whitelist).

How is online gambling taxed in Czechia?

Gambling tax is charged on stakes received minus winnings paid and stakes returned, per calendar quarter. Online technical games and lotteries are taxed at 35%, and online betting, totalisator, bingo and live games at 30% (Act No. 187/2016 Coll.).

What must a gambling ad in the Czech Republic include?

A statement that people under 18 may not take part and the visible warning "Ministerstvo financí varuje: Účastí na hazardní hře může vzniknout závislost!" The ad may not target minors or suggest gambling can replace income from work (§ 5j).

Can a company from another EU country get a Czech gambling licence?

Yes, if it is a legal person seated in the Czech Republic, another EU state or the EEA and meets the governance and CZK 50 million equity requirements (§ 6). The current whitelist includes licensees seated in Malta and Slovakia.

How does the RVO register affect marketing?

Players in the RVO cannot register, deposit or bet (§ 17), and the 48-hour panic button applies across all operators. Retargeting and CRM lists must exclude them, and affiliates should not keep chasing them with offers.

How much does an iGaming marketing agency cost in the Czech Republic?

Agency fees follow three models: a monthly retainer (typical for SEO, content and CRM), performance pricing tied to results (CPA, revenue share or a percentage of ad spend) or a hybrid of both. Basher typically works with operators spending USD 25K a month or more in paid media, and supports smaller brands during a launch when there is a clear scaling plan. Directional 2026 ranges by service are in our iGaming marketing agency cost guide.

Get in touch

If you hold a Czech basic permit or are applying for one, we can review your acquisition, affiliate and CRM plan against the Gambling Act and the Advertising Act before you spend.

Book a Czech Republic market review: /contact/
Read our regulated-Europe view: /markets/europe-regulated/

Sources

All checked 1 October 2026.

Czech Republic iGaming marketing for operators licensed under Act No. 186/2016 Coll.