Poland To Adapt iGaming Legislation, But How Much?

Poland is adapting its legislation, but there are still vital stakeholders in the market in need of relief. 

Status

The good: Poland has revamped its gambling laws to include online slots. The still problematic: there is still no sign of badly needed tax breaks for locally licensed gambling operators.

Online Slots Widen

Last Monday, the Poland Ministry of Finance indicated its willingness to allow operators to offer online slots, as long as they adhere to responsible gambling provisions which protect customers.

Land-based Slots

Land-based slots will be authorized by the Ministry of Finance to be administered by an as yet unspecified entity under the auspices of a state monopoly. The Ministry cites the addictiveness of the slots as the basis for confining land-based operations to "dedicated areas under control."

Poker Time

The Ministry will loosen restrictions on poker as well, with online as well as land-based games no longer relegated to only the country's current land-based casinos. This will allow for home play and in public establishments, practices which have been strictly forbidden until now, according to borderline draconian policies which the government is planning to lift with the new legislation. 

Protection

The Polish market will protect against unlicensed foreign operations serving Polish customers via existing standard IP- and payment-blocking mechanisms, while promising "more severe consequences" for non-compliant operators. 

Operators Still Confused

The Ministry offered no update regarding expected changes to the country's gambling taxes, with betting operators currently subjected to a 12% tax on turnover. 

Tax Distribution

The proposed gaming tax is thought to seek a new 20% levy on betting revenue, with 10% of that revenue distributed to the Polish Olympic Committee (7%) and gambling addiction support organizations (3%).

First of the Year

Further revisions have been submitted to relevant branches of government for their approval.  The Ministry did say they should they expect all changes in their completed form to take effect on January 1, 2017.