Czech lottery operator licence suspended

According to reports in the online publication Czech Position.com, lottery operator Sazka’s licence has been temporarily suspended by the Czech Finance Ministry.
The suspension was occasioned by the company’s failure to meet legal deadlines for the payment of winners in the Sportka lottery, reportedly involving some 103.4m Koruna (GBP 3.74 million)
Sazka is a state organisation which is reportedly heavily in debt. The company can lodge an appeal within 15 days, or the suspension can be lifted if the prejudiced winners are paid in full, a ministry spokesman pointed out.
However, Sazka is now under insolvency administration, with some 1 800 creditors, including major organisations like the PPF and KKCG groups. The company encountered difficulties when it agreed to pay for the Prague arena that hosted many of the world hockey championship games in the Czech Republic in 2004.
In initiatives designed to fill the vacuum, many other Czech gaming companies have reportedly launched their own lottery games, with the Fortuna group planning to offer an instant scratch game from May 16.

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