Maybe you’ve hit the Sportka, maybe you’re waiting for the EuroJackpot to play out, or maybe you’ve just won on scratch cards. In each of these cases, the same question arises: what is the tax on the winnings and when do you have to tax the winnings?
In this article we explain when gambling winnings tax is deducted automatically and when you have to deal with the winnings on your tax return, as well as the specifics of the tax on EuroJackpot and Sportka winnings.
At the outset, it is important to distinguish between two concepts that are confused in practice:
Winnings tax is a personal income tax and is applied according to the type of game. For lotteries and raffles, each individual prize over CZK 50,000 is subject to a withholding tax of 15%, which is paid directly by the organiser. The winner thus receives the amount already taxed. Prizes up to CZK 50,000 are then completely exempt from tax.
For other games of chance, such as fixed-odds betting, casino or technical games, the annual difference between the prizes paid out and the deposits made is tracked separately for each type of game. If this net income exceeds CZK 50 000 in a calendar year, it is taxed as other income in the tax return.
Not sure how to do your taxes correctly so you don’t get it wrong? We can help you navigate the law, whether it’s dealing with a specific tax situation, preparing for an audit by the tax authority or defending yourself in court.
The gambling tax is not paid by the player, but by the gambling operator. The tax is based on the so-called GGR – the difference between the deposits received and the winnings paid out (including returned deposits) for the relevant games.
The tax rates are set out in the Annex to Act No. 187/2016 Coll:
This tax is invisible to the ordinary player as it is paid directly by the operator. As a player, you will therefore be more interested in the taxation of winnings under the income tax regime.
The most frequent questions around tax on winnings revolve around specific games – mainly Sportka, Eurojackpot and other lotteries from Sazka. These are the ones where people most often ask whether they will have anything deducted from their winnings, how much exactly is the tax, and whether they have to file a tax return because of it. In the following chapters, we will explain in detail how the tax on lottery winnings works and show specific examples.
There is a very simple rule for lotteries and raffles, including common Sazka games such as Sportka, Eurojackpot and other number games. Every single prize up to CZK 50,000 is exempt from income tax, so you don’t have to declare it anywhere or deal with taxation. On the other hand, every single prize over CZK 50,000 is subject to a 15% withholding tax, which is deducted directly when the prize is paid out. This tax is paid by the operator, so you have no further obligations to the tax office unless you voluntarily choose to do otherwise.
For example, the popular Sazka explicitly states in its terms and conditions that from 1 January 2024 all gambling winnings exceeding CZK 50,000 are subject to a 15% tax and the tax is deducted when they are paid out. You, as the winner, will therefore already receive the amount after tax.
Let’s imagine a specific situation where you win at Sportka. If you win CZK 30,000, you remain below the CZK 50,000 limit, so no tax is payable on the winnings and it is tax-free income. But if you win, for example, CZK 200,000, withholding tax kicks in.
In this case, the situation looks like this: the gross winnings amount to CZK 200 000, of which the tax of 15% is CZK 30 000 and you receive CZK 170 000 in your account. Unless you have another reason for doing so (for example, other specific income), you do not have to file a tax return for the winnings themselves. The tax withheld on this income is considered final.
However, the law allows you to include this income in your tax return and to offset the tax withheld, typically if you have a higher income and are looking to optimise your overall tax burden. In practice, this is more likely to be the case for people with more complicated tax situations.
The tax on a Eurojackpot win follows exactly the same rules as a Sportka win, it is still simply a lottery win. This means that every single win up to CZK 50,000 is tax-free, and for every single win over CZK 50,000 the operator deducts 15% tax when it is paid out, so you will already get the amount after tax.
For giant jackpots in the hundreds of millions, the principle is the same, only the absolute numbers change. For example, if you win CZK 1,000,000,000, then:
Even in this case, you do not have to declare the winnings on your tax return, because the tax on the winnings has been settled by withholding directly when the winnings are paid out.
For fixed-odds betting, casinos and online gaming, the rules for taxation are slightly more complex. It is not just one big win that is tracked, but the total difference between wins and deposits over the year. Let’s explain this in more detail with examples:
For other games of chance, i.e. in particular betting odds, totalizator games, technical games (slots), live casino games, tournaments and similar games, a different principle applies compared to lotteries. In these games, it is not each individual prize that is tracked, but the difference between the total of all prizes and the total of all deposits (bets) for the entire tax period. At the same time, the limit of CZK 50 000 is assessed separately for each type of gambling game, i.e. separately for fixed-odds betting, separately for technical games and separately for other categories.
If the difference for the year does not exceed CZK 50,000, the income is considered tax-free, no tax is payable on the winnings and you do not declare anything on your tax return. However, once the difference exceeds CZK 50,000, the entire difference becomes taxable income – this is so-called other income under the Income Tax Act, which is taxed at 15% and, if it puts you in a higher rate bracket, partly at 23%.
You can only claim deposits (bets) as an expense against this income. If your deposits exceed your winnings for a given game and you incur a loss, you cannot claim it or carry it forward (for example, to offset a loss on a bet against slot machine winnings or against other income) – the law expressly forbids it.
Not sure how to do your taxes correctly so you don’t get it wrong? We can help you navigate the law, whether it’s dealing with a specific tax situation, preparing for an audit by the tax authority or defending yourself in court.
Imagine that you are doing your tax return in 2026 and you look back at your bets for the year 2025. In this year you have: bet a total of CZK 120,000 on fixed-odds bets (e.g. Sazkabet, Fortuna, Tipsport…) and your total winnings (i.e. the sum of all your winnings for the whole year, regardless of how many times you have lost in the meantime) amounted to CZK 190,000.
The difference for odds bets for 2025 is therefore: 190,000 CZK – 120,000 CZK = 70,000 CZK.
This difference is more than CZK 50,000 and therefore the whole CZK 70,000 is taxable income under the Income Tax Act (it is other income). The tax on the winnings will then be calculated at the standard rate of 15%, or partly at 23% if your total tax base for 2025 is above the higher rate.
For example, if the difference between your winnings and deposits for 2025 was only £40,000, you would stay below the £50,000 threshold and you would not be taxed on your betting winnings – it would be exempt income which is not shown on your 2025 tax return at all
For technical games, i.e. in particular online slots, classic slot machines, electronic roulette and other similar games, the same principle applies from the perspective of the winner as for fixed-odds betting. Here too, you are looking at the sum of all wins and the sum of all deposits for the whole calendar year. If the difference between these totals does not exceed CZK 50 000, no tax is payable and nothing is declared. However, once the difference exceeds CZK 50,000, the entire difference is taxable income, which you must include in your tax return and tax.
The law also explicitly states that it is irrelevant whether you play online or in a brick-and-mortar gambling hall, or whether the operator is Czech or foreign. It is always the type of gambling that is decisive, not where you technically play.
You need to be even more careful with winnings from foreign sources. For lotteries and raffles from abroad, the taxable amount is the full amount of the winnings, without the possibility of deducting expenses (deposits). You must declare such income yourself in the Czech Republic if you are a tax resident of the Czech Republic.
For other games of chance (e.g. fixed-odds betting or technical games), the principle of the winnings/deposits differential still applies for foreign operators, but no one usually automatically deducts the tax for you. The obligation to declare and pay the tax therefore lies entirely with you.
Particularly for foreign operators, it therefore makes sense to keep a record of deposits and winnings – ideally in the form of statements or exports from the player’s account – and to check whether and how the winnings have been taxed abroad, not least because of the possible use of double taxation treaties and the correct tax treatment in the Czech tax return.
You can find various winnings tax calculators on the internet. These online tools can help you, but the logic of the calculation is basically always the same. You just need to know what type of income you are receiving, whether it is lottery winnings, betting winnings or prizes from a competition, and you can calculate the tax yourself accordingly.
Suppose you win CZK 2,000,000 in Sportka. This is a lottery prize, so one specific individual prize is assessed. Because it exceeds the limit of CZK 50,000, the operator will automatically deduct 15% income tax on the payout.
Calculation:
The winnings do not have to be declared in the tax return, the tax on the winnings has been withheld.
Another model situation: in the year 2025, you bet a total of CZK 50,000 on fixed-odds bets and your total winnings (the sum of all your winnings for the year, regardless of how many times you lost in between) amounted to CZK 120,000. The difference between your winnings and your deposits is therefore 120,000 – 50,000 = 70,000 CZK, which is your “net win” from betting for the year.
As the difference exceeds CZK 50,000, you need to tax the entire difference of CZK 70,000 as other income:
You will pay this amount in your tax return.
In practice, we see very similar mistakes all the time:
Winnings tax is typically an income tax for winners, while gambling tax is paid by the operator (on the difference between deposits and winnings paid out). For lotteries and raffles (e.g. Sportka, Eurojackpot) a simple rule applies: individual winnings up to CZK 50,000 are exempt, and individual winnings above CZK 50,000 are subject to a 15% withholding tax directly at the time of payment – so the winner usually does not have to make any further enquiries on the tax return.
However, for fixed-odds betting, casinos and technical games, it is not the “one big win” that is assessed, but the annual difference between the winnings and the proven deposits (and separately for each type of game). If this difference exceeds CZK 50,000 for the year, it is taxed as other income in the return (normally 15%, or even part of it at 23% if the tax base is higher); the loss cannot be claimed or transferred between types of games. Extra caution is needed for foreign winnings, as the tax is often not automatically paid for you (and for foreign lotteries, the tax base can be the entire winnings without deducting deposits) – so it pays to keep records.
Income tax is typically dealt with on gambling winnings. No health or social insurance is payable on these winnings as they are not income from employment or business.
Yes, especially for larger sums you may need to prove where the money came from (typically for the bank/AML and the taxman). Therefore, it is better to keep a receipt of your winnings and, for betting/cashing, an annual summary of deposits and winnings (player account exports).
No. If the game has a negative difference (deposits exceed winnings), you cannot claim or transfer the loss or offset it against another game of chance.
Typically, you need to file a supplementary tax return (and deal with the associated consequences, such as interest on late payments). The sooner you correct the mistake, the better.
Not sure how to do your taxes correctly so you don’t get it wrong? We can help you navigate the law, whether it’s dealing with a specific tax situation, preparing for an audit by the tax authority or defending yourself in court.
Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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