Poland To Adopt Radical New Gaming Framework on Jan 1, 2017

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Friday, September 9th, 2016 | Written by Adam Brown

After months of debate, the Polish government is finally ready to move forward with new gambling regulations. The Polish Gambling Act approved in its final form on July 20, 2016, is slated to take effect on January 1, 2017, with the new legislation to result in many changes to gambling in Poland. Some of the features of the regulation include:

1: More Online Games Can Be Played at Certain Sites

The Polish Gambling Act legalizes more forms of online gambling than the previous legislation. Any site that has received an online gambling license will be permitted to offer online betting services that are outlined under the previous Polish Gambling Act Amendment of 2011. New forms of gambling will also be allowed at the state’s approved site, which is currently Totalizator Sportowy.

2: Online Operators Will Have to Make Their Sites Accessible

Under the new amendment, existing operators and newly licensed operators will be required to give the Polish Customs Office remote access to their archiving system. The office will reserve the right to check the information stored there at any time to see if consumer information is being protected.

3: The Minister of Finance Will Have New Online Gambling Powers

The Polish Gambling Act amendment expands the powers of the Polish Minister of Finance in order to curb illegal online gambling. Under the new law, the Minister of Finance will be able to block the IP address of any site that is providing online gambling services in Poland without having first being granted a license by the country. Internet Service Providers will need to follow through on any blocks ordered by the Minister within 2 months of a site being added to the list.

4: Payment Methods Will Be Limited

In an effort to discourage money laundering, licensed online gambling sites in Poland will only be able to accept payments from Polish banks, foreign banks with branches in Poland, credit card providers, and payment services that are registered with Poland or the European Union.

5: Expansion of Slot Machine Availability

Currently, only casinos may legally provide slot machines to the general public. Once the new law takes effect, a state-owned company will be authorized to place slot machines outside of casinos in pre-approved locations.

6: More Freedom for Live Poker Events

Under the current law, any type of poker tournament can only be held in a casino. The new amendment does away with that restriction, and allows any organization or group outside of a casino wishing to hold a poker tournament to apply for permission from the Polish Customs Office.

iPoker May Be Under A State Monopoly

In addition, the draft amendment may establish a state monopoly as far as online poker is concerned. This means that well recognized international operators such as PokerStars, partypoker, and 888 will not be permitted to apply for online poker licenses in Poland, although some analysts believe that there is sufficient ambiguity in the text to create doubt on this point. As a google translation of page 14, paragraph 3 of the amendments text states:

“Changing the rules for playing poker is to enable the organization of the game outside casino games, both by entities licensed to conduct casino games and others. Poker games can also be offered via the internet… The game of poker via the Internet, like other casino games, can be operated by the entity performing the state monopoly.”

In other words, the text appears to state that the game ‘can’ be operated by the state monopoly, but doesn’t necessarily have’ to be. This would open up the possibility of the state monopoly allowing online poker to be outsourced to a third party provider, similar to the role 888 plays in Delaware‘s regulated iPoker market, thus enabling at least one major operator to apply for the contract.

Pending EC Consultation

The Polish Gambling Act in its completed form has been submitted to the European Commission for review and comment. If the EU objects to any portion of the bill, the Polish government may need to revise and amend the law based on their criticisms and recommendations. Nevertheless, it remains questionable whether the EU will ultimately approve a case which seeks to appoint a state monopoly to run the country’s iGambling affairs.