It was announced that the managing director of one of Poland’s licensed gaming operators has asked the local regulator to reduce the current tax rate and to take due measures after the publication of a report, according to which unlicensed operators hold a 90% share in the country’s online gambling market.
Mateusz Juroszek, who is taking the position of a chief executive officer of STAR-TYP SPORT (STS), one of the four operators that are allowed to offer their services on the Polish market, pointed out that a lot of things could be done so as for unlicensed companies to be prevented from providing their services in the country. Thus, Poland will become much more attractive to foreign operators.
Mr. Juroszek commented that this can be achieved by lowering the current taxes that are imposed on licensed operators and by blocking the operations of unauthorized sites. He pointed out that this proved to be quite successful in several European countries.
Under the Polish Gambling Act, licensed operators need to pay a 12% tax on their revenue. What is more, local bookmakers can only operate if licensed by the Ministry of Finance.
Mr. Juroszek stated that all operators that have been registered in Gibraltar or Malta, for instance, are still able to provide their services to Polish customers without any apparent restrictions.
The executive’s comments came after a study conducted by Betting Expert, a local online betting community, found out that the four licensed gambling operators’ revenues constituted only 10% of the overall revenue generated in December 2014.
As it was reported, STS turned out to be the most highly profiting licensed operator with 4% of the entire revenue. As for Totolotek, Millenium, and Fortuna shared the modest 6%.
One of the main reasons why Poland has only four licensed gambling operators is the fact that under the current regulation, they need to have a “physical presence” within the territory of the country. According to Anna Wietrzynska, gaming lawyer at DLA Piper, this requirement may actually violate the EU law.
She explained that it should be determined whether the provisions in the Polish Gambling Act that prevent licensed EU operators from providing their services without having been granted a Polish license are actually breaching the EU law.
Currently, the Polish government is discussing a new Polish Gambling Act that is to reduce the requirements for granting a license. It is expected to be implemented no later than June 2015.
Back in 2014, local authorities initiated legal proceedings against players who opted for unlicensed sites.
According to a report compiled by Roland Berger, the Polish gambling market generates around €1 billion every year.
