Investigativní průzkum dokládá ústup nelegálního hazardu v Brně, spouští se Mapa hazardu
Illegal gambling is demonstrably in decline, in Brno, as shown by an Investigative Survey of Illegal Hazard Business commissioned by the City of Brno from the Anticorruption Endowment (NFPK). We have checked 63 addresses of businesses previously marked as illegal (by the City of Brno or the SPELOS Association). It must be noted that 28 businesses carry on business as usual without a Ministry of Finance licences, but 35 illegal parlours have been closed for good. Our survey has yielded thorough video and photo documentation, which Brno subsequently provided to the Customs Administration. Moreover, we have also launched a new map of gambling business on www.mapa-hazardu.cz, designed to register any and all information and data on Czech gambling parlours and casinos, including unlicenced operations.
By the end of 2013, there were less than 3,000 licenced gambling machines found in Brno, registered by the Ministry of Finance. However, their number dropped, by 7 July 2017, to 16 parlours or casinos with a total of 52 gambling machines, and the count is declining. Immediately after the enforcement of uncompromising policy on the Brno gambling scene, illegal machines were spotted, but their number continued to decrease by more than half, thanks in part to the City’s control mechanisms, police and customs administration raids, and the threat of a 50 million crown penalty for that. Our study also shows that what we call pub quiz machines tend to be far less attractive than classic gambling machines, for the gambler community. This was confirmed by not only our private observations but indeed also by the gambling parlour assistants, who were moreover happy to answer quiz machine queries if the player declined to do so. A classic illegal gambling site was spotted in Brno, but its operators took a series of security precautions out of fear of customs raid. We have also recorded the existence of a classic illegal gambling club, although this form of illegal gambling operation has been virtually routed out from Brno.
Brno stands out as the biggest Czech city that declared zero tolerance for gambling and took its share of intimidation from the gambling lobby. “Zero tolerance for gambling has clearly paid dividends to Brno and it is possible to gradually get control of illegal gambling, as proved by this study,” says Brno’s Deputy Mayor Matěj Hollan. However, one can still bump into several ex-gambling parlours in Brno, which do not ostensibly have machines but often stay open in case the City would change its mind on its zero tolerance for the gambling business.
Our Gamble Map (www.mapa-hazardu.cz) offers a simple way to tell legal from illegal on the gambling scene. Anyone can see if the parlour in his neighbourhood is legal and can easily report illegal business. Any parlors without a Ministry of Finance licence are indicated in the map only in one city, namely, Brno. “Sometimes involved persons comment on illegal gambling, but their arguments hold little water. Oftentimes they just intentionally distort facts. But this survey is not biased and its conclusions are clearly demonstrable and can be proved. It is our ambition to furnish such studies for a great many cities and municipalities, and all depends on their commitment,” notes Janusz Konieczny, NFKP analyst and manager of this research programme.
The list of verified Brno addresses was compiled from two sources, namely a directory of illegal gambling parlours, registered by Brno deputy mayor Matěj Hollan in 2014, and a random sample of former illegal sites as published on the website of the Association of Operators of Central Lottery Systems (SPELOS). Sites were at the same time identified and evaluated on the basis of field data or the Ministry of Finance databases of licences to conduct gambling operations.
Contacts: Janusz Konieczny, NFPK Analyst, e-mail: janusz.konieczny@nfpk.cz, tel.: 604 270 132.
Press Department, Brno City Council, tel.: +420 542 172 162, e-mail: tis@brno.cz
