Poker News – While Poland keeps its online poker market in the hands of “grey operators” by continuing to ban the game from the country, DLA Piper Anna Wietrzyńska-Ciołkowska told PokerNews that the country’s missed tax revenues due to gambling restrictions could be about PLN 600 million — approximately €142 million.
Since 2011, Poland’s online gambling market has been regulated by the Polish Gambling Act, a very restrictive set of norms that forbids online poker and allows online betting only on four operators holding state-issued licenses.
Yet, on March 25, 2014, amendments to the Polish Gambling Act made it possible for companies based anywhere within the European Union to process gambling-related transactions, opening Poland’s online market to widespread online payment processors such as Skrill and Neteller
The modifications to Poland’s gambling legislation came after considerable pressure from European institutions, which believed the gambling restrictions included in the Polish Gambling Act were in conflict with European treaties for the free movement of services within the Union.
Prior to the approval of the amendments, operators holding a valid Polish license were allowed to send and receive money exclusively to and from accounts operated by Polish banks, Polish branches of foreign banks and credit institutions.
Thanks to the new dispositions, Polish citizens and licensed operators are now allowed to use “other institutions authorized to operate payment accounts under the Polish Act of 19 August 2011 on Payment Services,” including all the online payment processors authorized to operate in the European Union.
Despite this small opening, Poland’s restrictive approach to online poker and online gambling in general is still under scrutiny of European institutions, as it might represent a breach of EU norms. Back in November 2013, the European Commission started an infringement procedure against the country, sending a formal letter to the Polish government in order to “to verify whether the measures in question are compatible with Article 56 TFEU, which guarantees the free movement of services.”
