His most acclaimed work was as a games show host and he became known internationally for hosting "Jeux Sans Frontières" in the 1970s, and "Kviskoteka", a highly popular quiz show that ran from 1980 to 1995. He co-hosted the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest held at the Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall in Zagreb (former Yugoslavia). Almost a decade later in 1999, Mlakar was still involved with Eurovision, hosting Dora, the Croatian heat of the song contest. From 1993 to 2002, Mlakar hosted "Kolo sreće", a Croatian version of "Wheel of Fortune". He retired from his job at the Croatian Radiotelevision in 2002.