Poland Star Rising, New Online Figures Show
Published September 27, 2018 by Lee R
Poland is turning out quite the regulation model in its new era of regulation.
Sports betting is the key driver of growth in the Polish market, according to the latest report by the country's Ministry of Finance.
Overall Turnover Up
The annual review of the country’s regulated gambling market revealed overall gambling turnover of PLN12.9b (US$3.5b) in 2017, representing a very healthy 22% improvement over 2016, with the government’s tax jumping 17% to PLN1.64b over the same span.
Leading Verticals
The main earners in Poland are casinos (PLN4.8b, +13%) and lottery operations (PLN4.6b, +1.4%), but the new kid on the block is sports betting, whose annual turnover of PLN3.4b marked a massive year-on-year improvement of 105%. The show of strength further boosted betting’s share of the overall market from 15.7% in 2016 to 26.4% in 2017.
Retail Betting Expands
Another key factor in overall growth was the 29% rise in retail betting outlets, which complemented the country's newly regulated online betting market which was understandably gaming's prime mover.
Online Tax Gains
The success of online turnover is reflected in the tax figures they contributed to: in 2016, the government’s share of betting activity was PLN196.6m, with PLN88.1m of that representing online revenue. came via the internet. However, in 2017, the betting tax total of PLN407.4m received a PLN279.2m share from online operations, for a massive year-on-year gain of 217%.
The New Era
Poland's online era wasn't even ushered in until April 1, 2017. Since then, a total of only nine new online betting permits have been issued, with international operators citing the country’s 12% tax on betting turnover as a deterrent against more entry.
More Growth
The market is growing fast, even as we speak. The Poland government estimates that locally licensed operators’ share of the online betting market had reached 40% by the end of 2017, vaulting from 10% prior to the imposition of the new regime.
The government hopes for far more growth, citing rigorous enforcement of its domain- and payment-blocking tools as drivers that potentially will push domestic online shares to 90%.
Outlook: Beacon for Change
In a new economy, Poland is certainly setting out on the right foot. It has instilled significant growth with an ambitious plan to sustain and even expand that growth. Other jurisdictions from all regions might do well to identify the proactive factors in Poland's approach to adaptation of online gaming in order to streamline their own adaptation processes as well.
