Poland's position on online gambling weakened

In a bid to meet European Commission demands regarding free movement of goods and services within the European Union, the Polish government’s highly restrictive and nationalistic laws on payment processing – a critical feature in online gambling activity – have been relaxed.

Late last month the amendments were implemented, permitting companies based within the European Union to process gambling-related transactions, opening Poland’s internet gambling market to online payment processors such as Skrill and Neteller, reports Poker News.

Poland continues to ban online poker and casino gaming, and restricts online sports wagering to just four operators holding Polish licensing – only Polish companies can apply for licensing.

That policy could be depriving the government of around Euro 142 million a year in tax revenues as players use “grey market” operators, according to the Poker News report.

How long such a protectionist policy will last is open to conjecture, given the European Commission’s continued scrutiny of Polish online gambling laws and its insistence on compliance with EU principles. In November last year the Commission launched infringement procedures.

It’s a sizeable market; according to a report compiled by consultants Roland Berger earlier this year, the Polish online gambling market is worth around Euro 1 billion…and the four operators holding Polish online gambling licensing only account for about 9 percent of that!

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2014/04/poland-gambling-legislation-costs-millions-18102.htm