{"id":37959,"date":"2016-08-02T18:00:34","date_gmt":"2016-08-03T01:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=37959"},"modified":"2016-08-02T17:44:43","modified_gmt":"2016-08-03T00:44:43","slug":"anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Anonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Andrej
Andrej Babis, the billionaire Czech deputy PM and finance minister, has been called the Czech Donald Trump. Hacktivist collective Anonymous has taken exception to his online gambling regulations. (Image: hir.ma)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Anonymous, the left-wing \u201chacktivist\u201d collective, attacked online divisions of the food and agriculture empire belonging to Andrej Babis, the billionaire Czech finance minister and deputy prime minister, this week, in protests over\u00a0the country\u2019s new online gambling laws.<\/p>\n

Specifically, Anonymous was targeting internet censorship, as the Czech Republic\u2019s new gambling regime, introduced at the end of last month, contains provisions to blacklist non-licensed gambling sites.<\/p>\n

This is creating the possibility of future ISP-blocking<\/a> in the Central European state.<\/p>\n

“The Finance Ministry led by Andrej Babis gets almost limitless power to censor the internet. It is time to move against it,” Anonymous said in a video posted on YouTube.<\/p>\n

According to Czech news agency Lupa.cz, the group took down two of Babis\u2019 websites on Monday evening, including that of his holding company, Agrofert.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Czech Donald Trump\u201d<\/b><\/h2>\n

Babis is the country\u2019s second-richest man and founder of the ANO 2011 party (YES 2011), which finished second in the Czech general elections of 2013, permitting him to form a coalition government with the incumbent Christian Democrat Party.<\/p>\n

He has been accused, variously, of being an ex-Soviet secret policeman, a post-Communist oligarch and the Czech Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

\n

Babis swept to power (-sharing) on a populist platform that promised to fight the widespread corruption he perceived to be endemic in his country\u2019s politics. He has placed increased emphasis on fighting tax fraud and improving collection methods in order to boost state revenue.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This includes his online gaming<\/a> regulations, which were approved by the Czech legislature by an emphatic 42-0 vote. The regulations seek to open up the market to foreign operators, but its tax rates are unlikely to have many companies lining up to apply for licenses.<\/p>\n

Unworkable Taxation<\/b><\/h2>\n

Initial proposals of a 40 percent tax rate on gross gaming revenue were eventually amended to 35 percent, on top of a 19 percent corporate tax rate. The system would be unworkable for online gambling operators who would have no choice but to shut the Czech Republic out of their operations if they wish to comply with EU law. This means that Czech citizens are likely to continue to bet an estimated $6 billion per year on the black market but not through trusted sites.<\/p>\n

The regulations also include a provision that prevents online poker bets from exceeding 1,000 Czech Koruna ($40.98), while winnings in any specific game, including tournaments, are capped at 50,000 Czech Koruna ($2,049).\u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“We only want to apply rules used by 18 [EU] countries already,\u201d Babis told Reuters in response to the Anonymous attacks. \u201cNobody wants to censor the internet. It is aimed against gambling companies that do not pay taxes.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Babis said he would file a criminal complaint, while Anonymous said the attacks would continue until the new law was revoked.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anonymous, the left-wing \u201chacktivist\u201d collective, attacked online divisions of the food and agriculture empire belonging to Andrej Babis, the billionaire Czech finance minister and deputy prime minister, this week, in protests over\u00a0the country\u2019s new online gambling laws. Specifically, Anonymous was targeting internet censorship, as the Czech Republic\u2019s new gambling regime, introduced at the end of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":37961,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,13,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAnonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Andrej Babis\u2019 websites were targeted by Anonymous hacktivist collective over the country\u2019s new online gambling regime.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Anonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Andrej Babis\u2019 websites were targeted by Anonymous hacktivist collective over the country\u2019s new online gambling regime.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-08-03T01:00:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-08-03T00:44:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Andrej-Babis.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"653\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"367\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/\",\"name\":\"Anonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Andrej-Babis.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-08-03T01:00:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-08-03T00:44:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"Andrej Babis\u2019 websites were targeted by Anonymous hacktivist collective over the country\u2019s new online gambling regime.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Andrej-Babis.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Andrej-Babis.jpg\",\"width\":653,\"height\":367,\"caption\":\"Andrej Babis, the billionaire Czech deputy PM and finance minister, has been called the Czech Donald Trump. Hacktivist collective Anonymous has taken exception to his online gambling regulations. (Image: hir.ma)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Financial\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Anonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\",\"name\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Casino.org Staff Writer\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Anonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws","description":"Andrej Babis\u2019 websites were targeted by Anonymous hacktivist collective over the country\u2019s new online gambling regime.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Anonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws","og_description":"Andrej Babis\u2019 websites were targeted by Anonymous hacktivist collective over the country\u2019s new online gambling regime.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2016-08-03T01:00:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-08-03T00:44:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":653,"height":367,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Andrej-Babis.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Casino.org Staff Writer","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Casino_Org","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Casino.org Staff Writer","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/","name":"Anonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Andrej-Babis.jpg","datePublished":"2016-08-03T01:00:34+00:00","dateModified":"2016-08-03T00:44:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77"},"description":"Andrej Babis\u2019 websites were targeted by Anonymous hacktivist collective over the country\u2019s new online gambling regime.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Andrej-Babis.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Andrej-Babis.jpg","width":653,"height":367,"caption":"Andrej Babis, the billionaire Czech deputy PM and finance minister, has been called the Czech Donald Trump. Hacktivist collective Anonymous has taken exception to his online gambling regulations. (Image: hir.ma)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/anonymous-attacks-billionaire-czech-finance-minister-over-online-gambling-laws\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Financial","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/financial\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Anonymous Attacks Billionaire Czech Finance Minister over Online Gambling Laws"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77","name":"Casino.org Staff Writer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0853bd574da5b217483afb1fbbee33a5?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Casino.org Staff Writer"},"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/corg-staff-writer\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37959"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}