Kudos to Intertops

[PerpetualCzech]

Cons,

There absolutely is a tax here and it's interesting you are asking about it just now because on Jan 1st they raised it from 5% to 10%. That's a huge **** to me and rules out practically any serious betting I'll do here in the future. Everywhere else in the world governments are lowering taxes to compete with offshore books but here they can afford to raise it because Czechs just simply are not aware that they have any other options.

(By the way I left Jamaica a few months ago and am now doing the soccer for Spiro from here in case you're confused)

[Cons]

PC, raising tax to 10% is going to hurt the local sportsbooks in a major way. The only reason why the government can get away with it is because a lot of people prefer to pick up their winnings in cash straight away if they win. Over in England it's the same way. A lot of people place 5 Pound bets in the hope of hitting a 30/1 chance combo, and these people want to pick up the dough as soon as the result is known. They aren't interested in bank wires, cashiers cheques, credit cards...

These people will continue paying the 10% tax regardless of superior betting opportunities available offshore.

Hopefully we'll get the chance to meet up, maybe at some sporting event in the next couple of months?

[PerpetualCzech]

Absolutely right Cons, I would estimate 90% of all bets I see around me are 20-50 CZK bets (1 USD = 37 CZK) with a whole slew of teams on them going for a jackpot payout. With tickets like that an extra CZK or two in tax is going to just not be a consideration for the punter. In my almost 7 years of betting here I can honestly say I have never met or noticed anyone else who bets with the long term in mind. Personally I try and aim for total odds on my tickets of between 3.00 and 4.00, high enough to reduce effects of tax yet low enough for sensible cash management purposes.

Meeting sometime sounds great if you are in a neighbouring country ... it's only a few hours drive to Germany, Austria or Poland. Drop me a line at jansuch@attglobal.net