It is a well-known fact that Polish authorities are currently reconsidering the gambling rules and regulations with the aim of making them compatible with the contemporary standards.
They have announced recently that every Poland-based player who takes part in gambling activities delivered by an international website is going to have lots of troubles with authorities. The rule particularly applies to those websites that have not been legalized by the Polish gaming regulators.
A notice, posted by the Polish Ministry of Finance, informed the local players that those who dare to make bets with unlicensed operators will be supposed to face severe penalties and prosecution.
Actually, that is a new stage in country’s tactics. Polish regulators used to prosecute those who promote international gambling sites only.
According to the notice, a great number of players (approximately 24,000) have already been identified as being involved in illegal online gaming activities. Half of them have even won impressive sums of money.
According to the information the notice contained, more than 1,000 investigations have been started. Regulators said that they will pay utmost attention to those players who have earned the biggest sums as well as to those who are unwilling to confess their participation in illegal gambling activities.
Online sports wagering has been legal in Poland for more than 3 years now. However, the local regulators have not taken some important details into consideration. The high taxes were among the main reasons why there are only four gaming providers that have been allowed to operate on the territory of Poland.
Milenium, Fortuna Entertainment, Totolotek and STS are the providers that are currently available in Poland. However, they did not succeed in making players excited and willing to take part in online gambling activities. According to the estimates, the Polish gambling market is largely untapped, although it was expected to generate a revenue, equal to $1.5 billion.
A few months ago, Polish authorities announced that the current rules and regulations are about to be changed pretty soon. Amenities in the so called Gambling Act are supposed to implement the changes necessary and to allow operators that operate within Europe to establish their offices and their bank accounts in Poland. Authorities have already submitted their proposal to the European Commission, whose members are expected to make their final decision by the beginning of February.
Despite all the attempts Polish gambling regulators make, those who are familiar with the local gambling matters know that the chances for Poland to provide its residents with a wider variety of online gaming options are too slim, as the country was among those that had issues with the European Commission about the gambling legislation affairs back in November 2014.
