Poland to push through online amendment
Changes opening up market to foreign operators likely to pass in final days of BronisÅaw Komorowski's presidency
Poland’s government is set to push through a major amendment to its Gambling Act just weeks ahead of the inauguration of the country’s new president.
Proposed modifications to the amendment, which will open up the Polish market to foreign operators should they open a physical office in Poland and meet other requirements, had previously been delayed in order for it to be debated in the upper and lower houses of the country’s parliament.
But eGR understands a vote on the amendment, scheduled for 8 July, will likely pass and once signed into law by the president, will become binding within 14 days of publication.
Currently remote operators are required to establish a company within its borders, a restrictive measure which has so far limited the number of licence holders to just four: Fortuna, Milenium, Totolotek and STS.
Under the amendment operators would still need to hold a ‘branch’ within the country with all financial records made available in the Polish language.
The new-found urgency has been brought on by the final weeks of BronisÅaw Komorowski’s presidency. Komorowski lost May’s presidential election to Andrzej Duda, who will be inaugurated in August.
With Duda’s conservative PiS party unlikely to support the amendment in its current form, there was a risk that its passage would have to be restarted, despite Poland having notified the European Commission of the amendment back in November.
“I assume that the governing party’s aim will be to have the modified amendment signed by the current president by the end of July,” Anna WietrzyÅska-CioÅkowska, gaming lawyer at DLA Piper, told eGR.
“The governing party will likely use its majority of votes to have the modified amendment adopted without any changes,” she added.
Despite the bill ostensibly opening up Poland to foreign operators, the 12% turnover tax and limitations on advertising are unlikely to spark a rush of licence applications.
“The only changes it brings is the fact that foreign companies will need to open a branch and not a full company in Poland,” Michal Kopec, Eastern European manager at affiliate operator Betting Expert, told eGR earlier this year.
Roughly 90% of Poland’s online market is believed to be in the hands of unlicensed operators according to a study earlier this year by Betting Expert.