- Is Online Gambling Legal In Poland Now
- Is Online Gambling Legal In Portugal
- Is Online Gambling Legal In Poland 2020
- Is Online Gambling Legal In Poland Today
- Is Online Gambling Legal In Poland 2019
Online gambling is gaining traction worldwide and the number of countries that have legalized this activity is constantly growing. There are a few nations who refuse to even consider the possibility of creating a legal environment for their residents. However, they represent a shrinking minority and the trend is clearly towards fully legalizing and regulating. Based on the last introduced Gambling Act amendments with respect to Relevant Products offered in digital form, all online games, except for betting and special offer lotteries are covered by the state monopoly. Online sports betting is legal in this country and it is dominated by four betting companies. Fortuna Entertainment, Totolotek, STS, and Millenium are all licensed and regulated in Poland and they are allowed to offer their services online. Two laws opposing to online gambling were launched. The Gambling Acts proclaimed all forms of online gambling out of law, except for sports betting. Up to date, Poland operates under a licensing system for online sportsbooks. Normally, the licenses of locally-based operators are renewed every six years.
- Global Matters, Government Regulation
This year Poland effected amendments to its Gambling Act, introducing a number of regulations with regard to gambling services as well as new market regulation mechanisms. Among the important changes, the amendments introduced a state monopoly on operations of slot machines outside casinos, and also a mechanism for blocking online domains offering access to gambling operated by entities without the required state authorizations.
In practice, the new online gambling regulations force banks operating in the Polish market to block gambling transactions offered by entities without a Polish license. Both bank transfers and card payments involving unlicensed entities are considered to be participation in illegal gambling and banks are obliged to prevent their customers in engaging in such activity. As of July there exists a Polish 'Register of Domains Used to Offer Gambling Services in Violation of the Act' (Register), maintained by the Minister of Finance. Internet service providers must block entities whose address is entered in the Register. Further, players proven guilty of engaging in gambling on illegal websites are subject to fines and must forfeit the entirety of their winnings to the State Treasury.
At present, only few entities have been authorized by the Polish Ministry of Finance to offer betting services to customers, and all of them are registered in Poland. Interestingly, each of them has held the required authorization for years, and the most popular websites offering similar betting services, operated by foreign entities, initiated authorization procedures only in the first quarter of 2017.
The new regulations introduce, for the first time in Poland, a closed catalogue of websites; previously, blockades were imposed only on individual sites explicitly violating criminal law or at 'variance with the principles of community life.' Ally Law member firm Żyglicka & Partners notes that the amendments to the Gambling Act may raise some issues. In a judgement from last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that a Member State may not block websites that offer gambling services operated by entities authorized to do so by another Member State in a manner that is discriminatory to those entities. This judgement may significantly influence the issue of further regulation of the gambling market in Poland and the European Union.
Ally Law member firms have deep experience in gambling, gaming, and internet law. If you have questions about the legality of your gambling or games undertakings, check with your Ally Law member firm for advice on the legality of your transactions in every country in which you do business. For more information about our services in this area, contact us at yourally@ally-law.com.
Click here for the complete article by Jaroslaw Rudy and Maciej Kwadrans of Ally Law member Żyglicka & Partners.
Gambling in Poland really took off after the breakup of the USSR, where it flourished for a number of years without really much impeding it in the way of laws or regulations. Then, in 2010, the Polish government passed a pretty restrictive piece of legislation which still permitted gambling but did so under fairly tight restrictions.
The 2010 legislation primarily targeted land-based gambling operations, but it was quickly followed by further legislation in 2011 which dealt with online gambling more specifically. (1)
So there still are casinos operating in Poland, a total of 25 in fact spread around the country, with 20 of them offering live poker across a total of 55 poker tables. So we're talking very small poker rooms in general, but Polish residents still do have access to legal and regulated live poker if they choose. (2)
The current law in Poland does not sit well with the European Commission though, and since Poland is now a member of the European Union, they are at least subject to the opinion and the rulings of the European Commission.
The Commission has been active in the last few years in looking to convince other member countries to loosen up their gambling laws, especially in countries that have set up monopolies on gambling, as this is seen as an undue restraint on the free trade atmosphere that is at the forefront of the European Union.
The main problem that officials have with the Polish regulations is that they have been found to be too restrictive as far as the issuing of licenses is concerned, particularly the requirements for companies to essentially be Polish to qualify. (3)
There's little doubt that current regulations have stifled the Polish gambling market, and pressure has been brought to bear on the Polish government for them to relax this, and there has been some success that has been achieved here.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Poland Now
Countries in the EU don't enjoy quite the autonomy here that countries normally enjoy, meaning making whatever laws pertaining to gambling that they see fit, as the EU does have some latitude in prescribing how business is conducted in a member country, to some degree, even though countries affected often object to this. Over time though the pressure that the EU can bring to bear is something that at least has an influence on things and ultimately they can force the countries to comply, although the process is usually a pretty lengthy one.
So it's been over 4 years now since the new Polish regulations have been in effect and some progress has been made already. In 2014 Polish officials relented in allowing payment processors such as Neteller and Skrill to be used as payment processors for online gambling transactions, which at least made it more convenient for Polish players to move money in and out of gambling sites, so some progress is being made here at least. (4)
Online Poker in Poland
The Polish Gambling Act of 2011 prohibits online poker altogether and the only online gambling it permits is sports betting at one of four licensed online sites. While they did relent lately as far as what payment processors they allow for online gambling, the regulations do not accommodate licensing any Polish sites for poker, as poker is seen as a game of chance as casino games are, as opposed to sports betting which is seen as more of a game of skill.
People have argued that poker should be seen as a game of skill as well, although thus far these arguments have fallen upon deaf ears in the Polish government. While this debate goes on, less than 10% of Polish players play at Polish licensed online sites, and it is said that the government is missing out on about €142 million in lost tax revenues due to their unwillingness to regulated and tax online gambling in general. (5)
The regulations concerning the expanded list of payment processors don't just apply to Polish licensed online sites, they apply to any site in the European Union, as this change was brought on by pressure from the EU and the EU's stance has always been to open up markets to any EU company, and this applies to online gambling as well.
So the Polish government is now placed in a situation where almost all online gambling in Poland, including all online poker, takes place at sites outside the country, and they not only have to tolerate it and miss out on potential tax revenues, they now have been forced to assist them in making it easier for Polish players to move money in and out of these foreign gambling sites.
As far as Polish online poker players go, they couldn't be happier with the way things are now really, or at least they should feel this way, as this is really the best of outcomes for them. They can now have their transactions processed more easily, play where they want, and not have the sites they play at be subject to either ring fencing where they would then only be able to play against other players from Poland, severely effecting the player pool available in a negative way, and/or have the poker sites they play at be subject to the higher tax rate that Poland would certainly impose over the tax rate that the poker sites pay now in their much friendlier tax jurisdictions that they are currently in.
So Poland may continue to 'ban' online poker as it does now, but this ban really has little practical effect, as players continue to play on these sites, and there's not a whole lot that the Polish government can do to stop them. As long as people have an internet connection and poker sites will accept them, as they do now, they will play and play when and where they want.
So whether or not the EU continues to put pressure on Poland to relax their stance on online poker, or whether or not the government comes to their senses more and realizes that they are the real loser here, online poker is very alive and well in Poland and there's no reason why this won't continue to be the case regardless.
References:
Is Online Gambling Legal In Portugal
(1) Gambling Laws in Poland
(2) Poland Poker Rooms
Is Online Gambling Legal In Poland 2020
(3) Polish Draft Legislation Fails EU Screening Test
(4) Poland's Gambling Legislation Costs Millions
(5) ibid.
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At present, only few entities have been authorized by the Polish Ministry of Finance to offer betting services to customers, and all of them are registered in Poland. Interestingly, each of them has held the required authorization for years, and the most popular websites offering similar betting services, operated by foreign entities, initiated authorization procedures only in the first quarter of 2017.
The new regulations introduce, for the first time in Poland, a closed catalogue of websites; previously, blockades were imposed only on individual sites explicitly violating criminal law or at 'variance with the principles of community life.' Ally Law member firm Żyglicka & Partners notes that the amendments to the Gambling Act may raise some issues. In a judgement from last year, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that a Member State may not block websites that offer gambling services operated by entities authorized to do so by another Member State in a manner that is discriminatory to those entities. This judgement may significantly influence the issue of further regulation of the gambling market in Poland and the European Union.
Ally Law member firms have deep experience in gambling, gaming, and internet law. If you have questions about the legality of your gambling or games undertakings, check with your Ally Law member firm for advice on the legality of your transactions in every country in which you do business. For more information about our services in this area, contact us at yourally@ally-law.com.
Click here for the complete article by Jaroslaw Rudy and Maciej Kwadrans of Ally Law member Żyglicka & Partners.
Gambling in Poland really took off after the breakup of the USSR, where it flourished for a number of years without really much impeding it in the way of laws or regulations. Then, in 2010, the Polish government passed a pretty restrictive piece of legislation which still permitted gambling but did so under fairly tight restrictions.
The 2010 legislation primarily targeted land-based gambling operations, but it was quickly followed by further legislation in 2011 which dealt with online gambling more specifically. (1)
So there still are casinos operating in Poland, a total of 25 in fact spread around the country, with 20 of them offering live poker across a total of 55 poker tables. So we're talking very small poker rooms in general, but Polish residents still do have access to legal and regulated live poker if they choose. (2)
The current law in Poland does not sit well with the European Commission though, and since Poland is now a member of the European Union, they are at least subject to the opinion and the rulings of the European Commission.
The Commission has been active in the last few years in looking to convince other member countries to loosen up their gambling laws, especially in countries that have set up monopolies on gambling, as this is seen as an undue restraint on the free trade atmosphere that is at the forefront of the European Union.
The main problem that officials have with the Polish regulations is that they have been found to be too restrictive as far as the issuing of licenses is concerned, particularly the requirements for companies to essentially be Polish to qualify. (3)
There's little doubt that current regulations have stifled the Polish gambling market, and pressure has been brought to bear on the Polish government for them to relax this, and there has been some success that has been achieved here.
Is Online Gambling Legal In Poland Now
Countries in the EU don't enjoy quite the autonomy here that countries normally enjoy, meaning making whatever laws pertaining to gambling that they see fit, as the EU does have some latitude in prescribing how business is conducted in a member country, to some degree, even though countries affected often object to this. Over time though the pressure that the EU can bring to bear is something that at least has an influence on things and ultimately they can force the countries to comply, although the process is usually a pretty lengthy one.
So it's been over 4 years now since the new Polish regulations have been in effect and some progress has been made already. In 2014 Polish officials relented in allowing payment processors such as Neteller and Skrill to be used as payment processors for online gambling transactions, which at least made it more convenient for Polish players to move money in and out of gambling sites, so some progress is being made here at least. (4)
Online Poker in Poland
The Polish Gambling Act of 2011 prohibits online poker altogether and the only online gambling it permits is sports betting at one of four licensed online sites. While they did relent lately as far as what payment processors they allow for online gambling, the regulations do not accommodate licensing any Polish sites for poker, as poker is seen as a game of chance as casino games are, as opposed to sports betting which is seen as more of a game of skill.
People have argued that poker should be seen as a game of skill as well, although thus far these arguments have fallen upon deaf ears in the Polish government. While this debate goes on, less than 10% of Polish players play at Polish licensed online sites, and it is said that the government is missing out on about €142 million in lost tax revenues due to their unwillingness to regulated and tax online gambling in general. (5)
The regulations concerning the expanded list of payment processors don't just apply to Polish licensed online sites, they apply to any site in the European Union, as this change was brought on by pressure from the EU and the EU's stance has always been to open up markets to any EU company, and this applies to online gambling as well.
So the Polish government is now placed in a situation where almost all online gambling in Poland, including all online poker, takes place at sites outside the country, and they not only have to tolerate it and miss out on potential tax revenues, they now have been forced to assist them in making it easier for Polish players to move money in and out of these foreign gambling sites.
As far as Polish online poker players go, they couldn't be happier with the way things are now really, or at least they should feel this way, as this is really the best of outcomes for them. They can now have their transactions processed more easily, play where they want, and not have the sites they play at be subject to either ring fencing where they would then only be able to play against other players from Poland, severely effecting the player pool available in a negative way, and/or have the poker sites they play at be subject to the higher tax rate that Poland would certainly impose over the tax rate that the poker sites pay now in their much friendlier tax jurisdictions that they are currently in.
So Poland may continue to 'ban' online poker as it does now, but this ban really has little practical effect, as players continue to play on these sites, and there's not a whole lot that the Polish government can do to stop them. As long as people have an internet connection and poker sites will accept them, as they do now, they will play and play when and where they want.
So whether or not the EU continues to put pressure on Poland to relax their stance on online poker, or whether or not the government comes to their senses more and realizes that they are the real loser here, online poker is very alive and well in Poland and there's no reason why this won't continue to be the case regardless.
References:
Is Online Gambling Legal In Portugal
(1) Gambling Laws in Poland
(2) Poland Poker Rooms
Is Online Gambling Legal In Poland 2020
(3) Polish Draft Legislation Fails EU Screening Test
(4) Poland's Gambling Legislation Costs Millions
(5) ibid.
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