Changing ‘casinoscape’: spatial patterns of casino municipalities and impacts of the new gambling act in the Czech Republic

Casinos are one of the traditional gambling venues across the world and are often regarded as a symbol of the gambling industry. The Czech Republic has gradually developed into one of the countries where gambling establishments are most accessible. The new Gambling Act aims to concentrate individual establishments closer to each other and thus reduce their level of accessibility. The aim of our study is, therefore, to assess the impact of the new regulatory law on the spatial representation, geographical accessibility, and changes in catchment areas of casinos at the level of municipalities in the Czech Republic (6,258 spatial units) between 2017 (reflecting the situation at the time of the law's implementation) and 2023 (six years after). The main map shows the results of the Huff model, which is used to model the catchment areas of casino municipalities and the changes in these areas and in temporal availability. The time availability of casino communities has remained virtually unchanged after the introduction of the new Gambling Act. Regions with higher availability of casinos have been identified, which may be associated with a potentially higher need for treatment facilities. The results can be used as background material for developing strategies to regulate gambling.