The Czech government is going to raise the taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gambling. The Czech Finance Minister Alena Schiller has cited an increase in average salary and purchasing power of the citizens to advocate an increase in taxes.

“The average wage growth [in the Czech Republic] between 2009 and 2018 was 45%, while consumer tax on alcohol was last increased in 2010 and we will not raise it again until 2020,” Alena Schiller said.

As per the proposed tax revision, taxes on hard liquor would increase by 13%, cigarettes by 10%, sports betting by 2% and lotteries and games of chance by 7%. The revised and increased taxation could chip in an additional 10 billion crowns in annual tax revenue once it comes into effect.

“Both the World Health Organization and the OECD recommend that we do something about alcohol and tobacco consumption, and one of the most effective recommendations is a higher tax burden,” Czech Health Minister Adam Vojtech said.

BETFAN, which debuted on the Polish bookmaker market, wants to attract players with innovative solutions. In addition to the possibilities of betting on sports, live betting and esports, as the only firm in Poland offers a wide range of bets on entertainment, covering peri-sports topics, as well as from the area of media, politics, show business, economics or even the weather. BETFAN currently focuses exclusively on the Internet, and intends to gain a position through intensive, modern communication in this channel and a rich package of benefits for the players. Within the span of 3-4 years, BETFAN wants to be ranked among the 5 largest licensed bookmakers in the country.

“We want to change the perception of bookmaker bets. Therefore, we are not focusing solely on just sporting events and their results, we look closely to the surroundings and we try to offer our fans a variety of bets matching their various interests. With us you can bet on almost anything. In order to not to create additional barriers, we take on us payment of tax on games, and each new player can take advantage of the highest welcome bonus on the market, worth PLN 3,000” – explains Piotr Sienkiewicz, CEO of BETFAN.

BETFAN offers over 1.5 million different bets per month. According to the brand’s slogan: “You do not play, you will not win!”, wants to create the best possible environment in order to attract clients not used to betting before, to bet on selected events. Original and fresh content added on a daily basis, intuitive website betfan.pl with transparent modern design and straightforward UI/UX, as well as attractive promotions and financial incentives for the players, are the additional factors to build competitive advantage of BETFAN on the local market. What distinguishes this sportsbook from its competitors, are also innovative solutions used in the service of user accounts that enable simple and automated registration process using OCR technology, and guarantee fast payouts.

“We focus on continuous development of the offer and gaining an ever stronger position on the market. However, we do not want to follow the usual patterns, but through the modern forms of communication, speed, accuracy and professionalism, we want to provide the players with unique impressions and emotions related to betting on various events. We want to become the sportsbook of the 21st century on the Polish market” – comments Piotr Sienkiewicz.

In addition to the typical sports betting, BETFAN brings you the possibility to bet on such diverse and unusual events such as e.g. who will be the next James Bond after Daniel Craig? Will the Polish soccer champion finally advance to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League in the 2019/2020 season? Which car will be the European Car 2020? Will Donald Trump resign from the presidency during his first term? Who will host the Olympic Winter Games in 2026? In which city in June 2019 will be the most days with rain? Which organization is the first to send a man to Mars? Who will be elected the next Pope after Pope Francis? What will the turnout be in the upcoming European elections? Who will be the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms at the end of the 8th season of “Game of thrones”? And many, many more.

BETFAN started as the tenth entity in the Polish online bookmaking market. It is a company with 100% Polish capital, built on the basis of experienced management staff in the industry. Piotr Sienkiewicz, the president of the board, previously worked for ForBET and Totolotek. In the latter, he had the opportunity to cooperate with Grzegorz Kiczko, who is responsible for the operational activity of BETFAN. Jarogniew Muszyński, holding position of the head of IT, also gained experience in ForBET and Totolotek. The head of BETFAN marketing, Jakub Świsłowski, worked before for Onet, Agora and Polish Oil and Gas Company.

BETFAN has already proved its effectiveness and efficiency – it’s not only a bookmaker who the fastest obtained the permission from the Ministry of Finance, but then in the shortest period launched the activity – exactly within six months since obtaining a license. In the next of 3-4 years, wants to be ranked among the top 5 legal bookmakers in Poland turnover wise.

We are happy to announce that the registrations for the fourth edition of CEEGC and CEEG Awards in Budapest are open and the dates of the conference are 24-25 September 2019.

In 2019, we are adding a second day which will be dedicated for networking and a special boat trip is announced on the Danube in Budapest.

The 4th edition of the yearly must-attend conference of the gambling industry will focus on bringing new content and a different angle of view on already established and emerging market.

The discussions include compliance and investment opportunities in the regulated Central and Eastern European jurisdictions such as Bulgaria, Romania, Czech Republic, Croatia or Slovenia, and the Emerging CEE jurisdictions, Slovakia, Hungary, and Poland.

Beside the CEE focus, the discussions include the Balkan Gaming Industry Briefing and an exclusive IMGL MasterClass™ which highlights the opportunities for the gambling industry in Asia, Africa and North America.

Starting with 2019, the conference will also focus on shedding light the recent updates of the D-A-CH region and industry experts will also examine the impact of regulations on innovation, with emphasis on Loot Boxes, Sports betting, Casino, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, and Fintech.

You can find more details about the speaker lineup, agenda and networking opportunities on the official website: www.ceegc.eu

Same venue as in 2018

The venue of the conference is selected with the aim of providing a luxurious and comfortable setting for the delegates. As in 2018, the 2019 edition of CEEGC & CEEG Awards will be held at The Ritz-Carlton, a luxury hotel which offers palatial retreat moments from iconic landmarks and the Danube. The Ritz-Carlton Budapest was also voted by the attending delegates as their favorite venue for CEEGC Budapest.

CEEG Awards 2019

The prestigious CEEG Awards will once again reward and applaud the top 20 companies that drive the industry forward in the region by continuing to the tradition of bringing a transparent and unbiased award for the gambling industry.

Starting 2019, the process will also involve a nominations committee, which in parallel with the industry, will nominate companies that might have been overlooked in the past years.

The public nomination phase is open and you can submit your company until 15.07.2019 on the following link.

Register here or View the Agenda!

Browse the official event website here: www.ceegc.eu

Here are a few testimonials from the attending delegates:

“Central and Eastern European Gaming Conference is undoubtedly becoming one of the industry’s most iconic events. Zoltan and Betty have put a lot of thought and expertise into designing it and their efforts have certainly paid off. I personally had a great time and met a lot of amazing people and initiated new business relationships. The family-like atmosphere creates a special ambiance that makes this event stand out from other industry conferences. I look forward to attending next year.” ~ Sara Urbanovicova – Chief Commercial Officer, Tom Horn Gaming

“I have been attending the yearly CEEGC Budapest for 3 years now and I can surely say that the event has proven itself as a must-attend conference for companies seeking information about compliance around Central and Eastern Europe. The conference offers content of the highest quality which is rarely seen across the events in Europe and you can also maximize the top class networking opportunities.” ~ Nadiya Attard – Director of Business Development in EMEA and Asia, NetEnt

“Quality content and information, key people from the iGaming industry, a professional but friendly environment and an entire Awards procedure behind a truly Boutique Event – just congrats for the superb work!” ~ Maria E. Arnidou – Marketing & Communications Management, Fantasy Sports Interactive (FSI)

“Bitpay were proud to attend and catch up with Eastern European gambling merchants who are adopting bitcoin payments.” ~ Chris Denny – European Sales Manager, Bitpay