Poland to push for website blocking
Country considers more stringent measures to reduce unlicensed market following recent amendment to Gambling Act
Poland will move to tackle its substantial unlicensed market with new laws to block gambling websites in the country, eGaming Review has learned.
Following the imminent passing of an amendment to the country’s Gambling Act, which will reduce some of the barriers preventing foreign operators from gaining a licence in Poland, the Ministry of Finance will look to introduce new legislation to block unlicensed sites.
Operators active in Poland are due a stay of execution, however, as due to upcoming elections, however, any progress on website blocking is unlikely to be made until October, according to DLA Piper gaming lawyer Anna WietrzyÅska-CioÅkowska.
Despite foreign operators theoretically being able to apply for a licence in Poland, restrictive taxation and onerous operational requirements has seen the size of the unlicensed market swell to approximately 90%.
So far, only four operators have gained a Polish licence; Intralot subsidiary Totolotek, Fortuna, Milenium, and STS.
“The Polish Gambling Act is one of the most restrictive in Europe,” Mateusz Juroszek, STS CEO, told eGR. “The tax rate is 12% of turnover and it only applies to bookmakers that operate under a Ministry of Finance licence. Offshore operators still offer their services via internet without any restrictions,” he added.
Juroszek estimated that the value of untaxed gambling turnover in Poland exceeds 1.2bn and urged the Ministry of Finance to rationalise tax rates and accelerate the move towards website blocking.
“We are sure that these actions would shrink the black market and encourage international operators to apply for a Polish licence,” he said.