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# Poland gambling licensing, cost and supervision | advennt.io

[Jurisdictions](/jurisdictions/) › Poland

# Poland Online Gambling Regulation, Licensing & Tax Regime

Enter only for sports betting via a PL permit; online casino/poker is closed (state monopoly).

[4 open · 4 restricted · 4 closed · 5 uncertain · 3 not yet assessed → 20 classes](#products) Collected 25 Oct 2026 · Published 25 Oct 2026 · Changed 11 Oct 2026 [PDF](report.pdf) [Sign in for PDF](https://advennt.io/auth/) [Compare](/compare/?j=poland)

Regulatory Dimension Poland Standing Position

Jurisdiction Poland (PL)

Primary Gambling Regulator See Licensing & Regulation section

Product Access Summary 4 open · 4 restricted · 4 closed · 5 uncertain · 3 not yet assessed

Permitted (Open) Verticals Sports betting, Pool betting, Skill games, Free play

Restricted / Monopoly Verticals Bingo, Esports betting, Affiliate marketing, Payments for gambling

Prohibited (Closed) Verticals Casino, Poker, Lottery, Crypto gambling

Primary Instruments Referenced PL-GAMBLING-ACT-2009; PL-GAMBLING-AMENDMENT-2016

Verification & Currency Expert reviewed · Published 25 Oct 2026 (collected 25 Oct 2026)

## Can we offer our product?

Every product class, in fixed taxonomy order. The band is what you can do; where the recorded legal status says something the band does not, it is shown beside the product.

### Player products

- CasinoState monopoly (sole exception to a general prohibition)XClosed
- PokerState monopoly (sole exception to a general prohibition)XClosed
- BingoRRestricted
- LotteryState monopolyXClosed
- Sports bettingOOpen
- Other event betting–Not yet assessed
- Horse and greyhound racing betting–Not yet assessed
- Esports bettingRRestricted
- Exchange bettingGrey zone · Models agree?Uncertain
- Pool bettingContestedOOpenVaries by form · 1Non-sporting event pool betting: grey_zone

- Virtual event betting–Not yet assessed
- Fantasy sportsGrey zone · Models agree?Uncertain
- Skill gamesOutside the regulatory perimeter · ContestedOOpen
- Prediction marketsGrey zone · Models agree?Uncertain
- SweepstakesGrey zone?Uncertain
- Free playOutside the regulatory perimeter · ContestedOOpen

### Supply roles

- Software / B2BNot yet regulated?Uncertain
- Affiliate marketingRRestricted
- Payments for gamblingRRestricted

### Settlement rail

- Crypto gamblingProhibitedXClosed

Class-level certainty is graded for 6 of 20 classes.

## Board briefing

Poland: open private sports betting; online casino/poker/slots reserved to the Totalizator Sportowy state monopoly.

#### What has changed

- PSP cooperation (BLIK withdrawal) and a 2025 Interministerial Grey-Market Team have tightened enforcement against offshore operators; GGR tax reform debated but not enacted.

#### What to do now

- If entering, pursue a mutual-betting permit via a Polish entity (PLN 2M capital + PLN 480K security, ~6-month MoF review). Do not attempt private online casino/poker. Avoid offshore targeting of PL players.

#### What to watch

- Betting tax 12% turnover → possible GGR reform; any EU treaty challenge to the online-casino monopoly; Domain Register and payment-blocking escalation.

## 11 answers, each dated and graded

The weather grades favourability for an operator, not legality: legality is the product table above. The left rule is our confidence: solid confirmed, dashed probable, dotted uncertain.

### Poland Gambling — Overview

Poland's gambling enforcement architecture tightened with the launch of BLIK payment-rail blocking of illegal-gambling domains, layered on top of the existing ISP-level DNS blocking regime. The payment-processor mechanism, approved by the President of Narodowy Bank Polski and operative from 1 Septem…

Full analysis · 117 words Poland's gambling enforcement architecture tightened with the launch of BLIK payment-rail blocking of illegal-gambling domains, layered on top of the existing ISP-level DNS blocking regime. The payment-processor mechanism, approved by the President of Narodowy Bank Polski and operative from 1 September 2026, checks the destination domain of each transaction against the Ministry of Finance's illegal-gambling register, which holds over 55,000 domains. Multiple legislative proposals — a loot-box gambling classification bill, an influencer-promotion criminalisation bill, and an amendment to the Gambling Act's domain-register and fine-authority provisions — remain pending before the Sejm and Senate respectively, none yet enacted. The state monopoly operator, Totalizator Sportowy, continued commercial expansion through a new online-casino brand and a new lottery supply contract.

- Online casino/poker/slots reserved to state monopoly — no private pathway
- 12% turnover (not GGR) betting tax — high effective burden
- Broad advertising prohibition (Art. 29a) and rigorous compliance load

22 Sep 2026 Read update Poland's gambling regime is under active tightening pressure this cycle across tax, penal, and payment channels simultaneously. The Gambling Act 2009 remains the standing statutory basis for licensing and regulation, with no sourced change to that core framework this cycle. Against this stable base, three distinct reform tracks are proceeding concurrently: a proposed reclassification of loot boxes as gambling, a proposed rise in the winnings tax from 10 to 15 percent, and a proposed criminal offence targeting gambling-stream promotion. Layered on top of the legislative tracks is a live enforcement development — BLIK's new payment-blocking mechanism against illegal-gambling domains. Read together, these signals describe a jurisdiction-family-consistent pattern of a durable statutory core with an actively tightening enforcement and reform periphery.

### Poland Gambling — Licensing and regulation

## Licence Triggers

The conditions for obtaining a licence derive from the Gambling Act.

General rules: a licence or a permit may be applied for by entities, which are able to demonstrate:

1) lawfulness of sources of funds;

2) due payment of taxes constituting the income of the state budget and …

Full analysis · 1821 words ## Licence Triggers

The conditions for obtaining a licence derive from the Gambling Act.

General rules: a licence or a permit may be applied for by entities, which are able to demonstrate:

1) lawfulness of sources of funds;

2) due payment of taxes constituting the income of the state budget and other customs duties;

3) due payment of contributions to social and health insurance system;

4) the compliance of their activities with the following applicable provisions: (i) provisions on counteracting money laundering practices and financing of terrorism (ii) provisions on accountancy.

The above provisions shall be applied accordingly to the entities which do not have the registered office or place of residence in the Republic of Poland.

## Type of licenses needed

There are three types of licences required for offering gambling games to Polish residents, i.e.: (i) a licence to run a land-based casino; (ii) a permit to offer online gambling games; and (iii) a notification on commencement of a licensable activity. As this publication focuses on the activities of operators which offer gambling that can be carried out via the Internet, we will continue to focus on the point (ii).

The Minister of Finance issues permits for online betting.

The Director of the competent Revenue Administration Regional Office issues permits for organising online promotion lotteries.

## Period of licence & renewal process

As a general rule, a permit is issued for a period of six years and can be extended for an additional term of six years.

## Application timeframe and phrases

The licensing procedure should be completed within six months from the date of filing an application, though it is legally allowed for the regulator to extend the deadline. In practice, the licence proceedings usually last longer, which should be taken into account by each applicant.

List of documents & type of information needed to support application

The Gambling Act requires a number of documents to be provided together with the application form, although those provisions are considered as not offering much guidance as to the content of the documents required.

Each operator must provide AML documentation confirming the legality of funds used to organise gambling under a licence. Furthermore, the Gambling Act requires that online betting operators use only payment methods (bank transfers, credit cards, payment institution services, etc.) which ensure that money used for betting originates from a verified source.

Foreign operators submitting documents with the application must ensure that documents are translated into Polish by a certified (court) translator. Moreover, if the regulator determines that a given document does not comply with the requirements, the applicant will be requested to provide additional documentation or supplement the document. Clarifications or additional explanations might be expected in the process, particularly in relation to the terms and conditions of the game. The terms and conditions of the game is an obligatory document to be submitted with an application, which is subject to the Minister’s approval.

## Geographical cover

Poland only

## Mechanics of the licence process

Can apply at any time

## Bad Actor / Cooling off periods

The betting activity may be conducted on condition that:

There are no justified reservations about the given company or its shareholders holding shares whose value exceeds 10% of the share capital of the company, or members of the company’s management board, supervisory board or audit committee, or the company’s proxies, being natural persons, legal persons or companies without legal personality, concerning State security, public order, the security of economic interests of the State, and compliance with provisions on counteracting money laundering and terrorism financing;

No proceedings concerning criminal offences related to money laundering and terrorism financing are pending against the persons listed above (point ‘a’) before the judicial authorities of a Member State of the European Union or a member state of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area;

The company has not had a licence or permit revoked for the reason that the conditions provided for in the licence, permit, or the rules, or other legal conditions for pursuing the activities for which the licence or permit has been granted have been grossly breached within the six years preceding the date of submission of the application for a licence or a permit;

The shareholders (partners) of the Company, have not been shareholders (partners) holding shares whose value exceeded 10% of the company’s share capital in a company that has had a licence or permit revoked for the reason that the conditions provided for in the licence, permit, or the rules, or other legal conditions for pursuing the activities for which the licence or permit has been granted have been grossly breached within the 6 years preceding the date of submission of the application for a licence or a permit;

The members of the management board, supervisory board or audit committee or the proxies referred to point ‘a’ above, have not been members of the management board, supervisory board or audit committee or proxies in a company that has had a licence or permit revoked for the reasons that the conditions provided for in the licence, permit, or the rules, or other legal conditions for pursuing the activities for which the licence or permit has been granted have been grossly breached within the 6 years preceding the date of submission of the application for a licence or a permit; and

Good repute requirement: Natural persons being shareholders of a company conducting activities, representing at least 10% of the share capital, and members of the management board, supervisory board, or audit committee or proxies of such a company shall have a good reputation; in particular, they may not have a criminal record for intentional criminal offences or intentional fiscal offences in a Member State of the European Union.

## Applicant considerations

Conducting an activity within the scope specified in the Gambling Act is possible only in the form of:

A joint-stock company or a limited liability company having the registered office within the territory of the Republic of Poland; or

Joint-stock companies or limited liability companies, or companies whose activity is based on the principles of operation of a joint-stock company or a limited liability company, having their registered office in another Member State of the European Union may pursue activities in the Republic of Poland in line with the principles and conditions defined in the approved rules of operation (T&Cs), permit granted, as well as resulting from the provisions of the Act, provided that a representative is appointed, or in the form of a branch, i.e. a separate and organisationally independent part of business activity.

The following persons pursuing business activity in the Republic of Poland may act as representatives:

A natural person having their place of residence within the territory of the Republic of Poland and being able to communicate in the Polish language insofar as is necessary to perform the duties of a representative; or

A legal person or an organisational unit without legal personality having their registered office within the territory of the Republic of Poland, whose management board has at least one member being able to communicate in the Polish language insofar as is necessary to perform the duties of a representative.

The officers of such companies, i.e. members of the company’s management board, supervisory board or audit committee, must hold Polish citizenship or that of another EU/EEA member state.

Activity may be conducted on the condition that:

There are no justified reservations about the given company or its shareholders holding shares whose value exceeds 10% of the share capital of the company, or members of the company’s management board, supervisory board or audit committee, or the company’s proxies, being natural persons, legal persons or companies without legal personality, concerning State security, public order, the security of economic interests of the State, and compliance with provisions on counteracting money laundering and terrorism financing;

No proceedings concerning criminal offences related to money laundering and terrorism financing are pending against the persons listed above (point ‘a’) before the judicial authorities of a Member State of the European Union or a member state of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) - a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area;

The company has not had a licence or permit revoked for the reason that the conditions provided for in the licence, permit, or the rules, or other legal conditions for pursuing the activities for which the licence or permit has been granted have been grossly breached within the six years preceding the date of submission of the application for a licence or a permit;

The shareholders (partners) of the Company, have not been shareholders (partners) holding shares whose value exceeded 10% of the company’s share capital in a company that has had a licence or permit revoked for the reason that the conditions provided for in the licence, permit, or the rules, or other legal conditions for pursuing the activities for which the licence or permit has been granted have been grossly breached within the 6 years preceding the date of submission of the application for a licence or a permit;

The members of the management board, supervisory board or audit committee or the proxies referred to point ‘a’ above, have not been members of the management board, supervisory board or audit committee or proxies in a company that has had a licence or permit revoked for the reasons that the conditions provided for in the licence, permit, or the rules, or other legal conditions for pursuing the activities for which the licence or permit has been granted have been grossly breached within the 6 years preceding the date of submission of the application for a licence or a permit; and

Good repute requirement: Natural persons being shareholders of a company conducting activities, representing at least 10% of the share capital, and members of the management board, supervisory board, or audit committee or proxies of such a company shall have a good reputation; in particular, they may not have a criminal record for intentional criminal offences or intentional fiscal offences in a Member State of the European Union.

The persons referred to above shall, upon request of the licence- or permit- granting authority, provide a valid certificate of no criminal record for intentional criminal offences or intentional fiscal offences in a Member State of the European Union.

Those provisions apply accordingly to natural persons who are not-nationals of a Member State of the European Union.

There are some additional requirements concerning share capital, financial securities and fees. A licensee pays a one-off licence fee for the grant of a licence or a permit, for a licence or permit renewal and/or for an amendment to a licence or permit.

## Localisation

An entity organising gambling games over the Internet may use only a website whose national top-level domain is assigned to Polish websites for the purpose of their organisation.

5 Oct 2026 Read update Poland's online gambling regime remains a state monopoly under the Gambling Act 2009, with sports betting and promotional lotteries as the only carve-outs available to licensed private operators. This cycle's material development is a Ministry of Finance draft amendment proposing a new licence category for games involving virtual goods, commonly termed loot boxes. The draft licence, as proposed, would run for a two-year term and would sit outside both the state monopoly structure and the standard gambling tax obligations applied to conventional licensed verticals. The draft has not been formally tabled before the Sejm and remains at the pre-legislative stage prepared internally by the Ministry. Its exemption from standard tax treatment marks a deliberate attempt to classify virtual-goods products as distinct from traditional gambling rather than folding them into the existing licensing stack, though the practical licensing conditions, fees, and supervisory arrangements that would attach to this category are not yet public.

### Poland Gambling — Market entry in practice

## Partially regulated

Gambling in Poland is regulated (except for certain provisions on criminal liability and supervision powers), by the Gambling Act of 19 November 2009 (as amended). The Gambling Act applies to “gambling games” which consist of four main categories:

Games of chance;

Betting;
…

Full analysis · 594 words ## Partially regulated

Gambling in Poland is regulated (except for certain provisions on criminal liability and supervision powers), by the Gambling Act of 19 November 2009 (as amended). The Gambling Act applies to “gambling games” which consist of four main categories:

Games of chance;

Betting;

Card games; and

Slot machine games.

Games without an element of chance (that is games solely based on the participants’ skill or knowledge) are not subject to the Gambling Act. Based on the last Gambling Act amendments, with respect to gambling games offered in digital form, all online games except for betting and promotion lotteries are subject to state monopoly. The only form of online gambling currently permitted for private entities in Poland (upon the licence or permit granted) are betting and promotion lotteries.

The amendments to the Gambling Act, introduced in 2017, took quite a restrictive approach; therefore, the licensing regime in Poland can be described as severe and uncompromising. The most significant amendment introduced to the system was a monopoly regime over the majority of gambling games, especially offered online; the only online form allowed to be provided by private operators (upon the permit granted) is “mutual betting” (please see the Polish legal definition provided in the General betting overview) and/or a promotion lottery.

## Market size

H2 Gambling Capital (H2GC) data have previously been cited for a forward-looking GGR estimate for the Polish online betting and casino games market; we are not including a specific figure here, as the underlying full H2GC report is not available to us and its figures could not be reconciled against the publicly available H2GC/PIGBRiB presentation referenced below.

According to the Ministry of Finance's communication " The share of the online grey market in terms of GGR on the Polish gambling market, compared with other EU countries, 2018–2025" (published 12 June 2026), the online grey-market share of GGR in Poland fell from 51.7% in 2018 to 27.5% in 2025 (sector breakdown: mutual betting fell from 34.0% to 22.0%; online casino games fell from 99.3% to 37.6%). The same communication reports that gambling industry revenues in Poland in 2025 reached PLN 117.35 billion, an increase of 24.65% (PLN 23.21 billion) versus 2024's PLN 94.14 billion, with the largest revenue increases recorded in online casino games (+34.45%, PLN 17.43 billion), mutual betting (+14.17%, PLN 2.33 billion) and slot-machine arcades (+21.87%, PLN 2.13 billion). These figures supersede the previously reported 2024-on-2023 growth rate of 26.6% and the earlier grey-market estimate of 29.1% (2016-2024 trend).

## Localisation

The Gambling Act allows payment transactions to be carried out only through providers that are: national banks, branches of foreign banks, credit institutions and branches of these institutions, electronic money institutions, payment institutions and cooperative savings and credit unions or the National Cooperative Savings and Credit Fund.

Prominent marketing/advertising channels: Assuming that advertising takes place under the terms of the gambling law, the main advertising channels are radio, television and social media, sport events.

## Top Key Attractions and Challenges

## Attractions

dynamic development of the skill games market;

in the event of doubts about the nature of the game, it is possible to obtain an opinion from the Ministry of Finance regarding the nature of the game;

fast procedure for obtaining a game opinion - a decision is issued within 1 month;

dynamic development of the esports industry;

many foreign operators do not operate on the Polish market but have R&D companies in Poland.

## Challenges

state monopoly for the majority of games;

very limited number of products for which an operator can obtain licences;

fiscal burdens.

### Poland Gambling — Licence fees

Entry costs are significant: minimum PLN 2,000,000 share capital for a betting operator (PLN 4,000,000 for casinos), plus PLN 480,000 financial security for an online betting operator (bank/insurance guarantee or deposit) to secure tax and player claims. Application fees are linked to the statutory …

Full analysis · 61 words Entry costs are significant: minimum PLN 2,000,000 share capital for a betting operator (PLN 4,000,000 for casinos), plus PLN 480,000 financial security for an online betting operator (bank/insurance guarantee or deposit) to secure tax and player claims. Application fees are linked to the statutory base amount and number of websites. The capital and guarantee thresholds are a meaningful barrier to entry.

28 Sep 2026 Read update The dominant cost-to-operate signal this cycle is the proposed increase to the withholding tax on gambling winnings under draft project UD289, amending the Excise Duty Act and the Personal Income Tax Act. Current law sets a 10 percent withholding tax on single winnings exceeding PLN 2,280; the draft would raise this to 15 percent from 2026, the first change to the rate since 2001, and would extend its scope to winnings earned abroad in other EU and EEA states. This is a player-facing tax rather than a direct operator levy, but it bears on net player value and the relative attractiveness of the Polish market against jurisdictions with lighter withholding treatment. Separately, the draft loot-box licence category proposed by the Ministry of Finance would be exempt from standard gambling tax obligations, though the concrete fee or levy structure that would replace that exemption has not been made public this cycle. Neither instrument has been enacted.

22 Sep 2026 Read update The dominant cost-to-operate signal this cycle is a draft Act, project UD289, amending the Excise Duty Act and the Personal Income Tax Act to raise the flat-rate tax on gambling winnings from 10 percent to 15 percent, targeted for implementation in 2026. This is a probable-confidence, mixed-durability signal: it is a draft before government rather than enacted legislation, but a 50 percent relative increase to a headline winnings-tax rate is material regardless of its current legislative stage. Operators should model the effect of this potential rate change on player-facing returns and retention now, while tracking the bill's progress toward enactment, since no primary mf.gov.pl or Sejm legislative-tracker source has yet been directly retrieved to upgrade this claim from probable to confirmed.

9 Sep 2026 Read update The dominant cost signal this cycle is the increase in the flat-rate tax on gambling winnings from 10 percent to 15 percent under Personal Income Tax Act Article 30(1)(2), per Draft Act UD289, effective January 2026 and newly extended to EU/EEA-sourced winnings. This is a fifty percent relative increase in the player-facing tax burden. While the tax falls on winnings rather than operator revenue directly, it materially changes the economics of play and, per the Interpreter's key judgment, may push demand toward unlicensed offshore platforms sitting outside this tax net, a risk that would undercut the measure's fiscal intent while expanding the grey-market competitive backdrop against which licensed operators compete. The claim carries durable-instrument status as an amendment to primary tax legislation, sourced from two independent Tier-3 sources this cycle; no Tier-1 confirmation was reached. No material change in AML/CFT or responsible-gambling compliance lift was evidenced this cycle.

### Poland Gambling — Tax

## Application fees

A charge for the grant of:

1) a betting operating permit totals 2000% of the base amount and additionally:

a) per each betting premises - 50% of the base amount,

b) for organising betting through the Internet - 2000% of the base amount,

c) for each website used to organise b…

Full analysis · 1181 words ## Application fees

A charge for the grant of:

1) a betting operating permit totals 2000% of the base amount and additionally:

a) per each betting premises - 50% of the base amount,

b) for organising betting through the Internet - 2000% of the base amount,

c) for each website used to organise betting - 5000% of the base amount;

2) a raffle lottery-operating permit or a raffle bingo-operating permit totals 100% of the base amount, and if the permit refers to games organised within one voivodship - 50% of the base amount;

3) a promotion lottery-operating permit or a phone-or-text message lottery-operating permit totals 10% of the pool of prizes, however, at least 50% of the base amount;

4) the fee for the consideration of an application for a decision on the nature of a game, shall be 200% of the base amount.

## Ongoing fees

The amendment to the Polish Gambling Act, introduced in 2017, took quite a restrictive approach. The most significant amendment introduced to the system was a monopoly regime over the majority of gambling games, especially offered online; the only online form allowed to be provided by private operators (upon the permit granted) is “Mutual Betting” (please see the Polish legal definition provided in the General betting overview) and/or a lottery. An entity organising gambling games on-line pays a charge for the grant of a licence or a permit, for a licence or permit renewal and/or for an amendment to a licence or permit.

The granting of a betting permit itself is payable. The fees constitute revenue for the State budget and the authority entitled to collect them is the licensing or permitting authority. The Gaming Act expresses the amount of fees by a given percentage of the base amount. The base amount, according to the Act, is equal to the amount of the average monthly remuneration in the enterprise sector without the payment of prizes from profit, in the third quarter of the previous year: in 2025, it is: PLN 8,918.94

## Any required minimum guarantee

The entity shall provide, within the time limit prescribed in a permit and with a view to protecting the financial interests of participants in gambling games and securing liabilities arising from the gaming tax, a financial security.

Financial securities may include: (a) bank or insurance guarantees; (b) depositing a relevant amount of money in a bank account designated by the authority granting permits.

At the stage of applying for permits, the applicant is free to propose a method of security, among the possibilities indicated in the Act. However, the authority is not bound by this choice and may demand another, more appropriate form of financial security, provided that it is provided for in the provisions of the Gambling Act.

The condition for making a financial security in the form of a bank or insurance guarantee is the submission, with a written confirmation of acceptance of the financial security, of the original document of the bank or insurance guarantee to the authority granting the permit.

The condition for making a financial security in the form of a cash deposit is the payment of the cash deposit into a bank account indicated by the licensing authority and submission of proof of payment.

## Capitalisation requirement

Share capital of a joint-stock company, a public company, or a limited liability company operating betting - may not be lower than PLN 2 000 000.

## TAXES

Licence taxes

The tax on games is a tax independent of other public charges. Entities legally operating in the field of organising and conducting games of chance, betting and gaming machines are subject to this tax regardless of the fact that they are subject to tax obligations in other taxes, primarily corporation and personal income tax.

A gambling tax payer shall be a natural person, legal person or a business unit without legal personality, for example a partnership, organising gambling games under a granted licence or permit.

Activities subject to gambling tax include:

the organising of gambling games, except for promotion lotteries, raffle lotteries, and a raffle bingo game referred to in Article 7.1a of the Gambling Act, and poker games played as a poker tournament; and

participation in a poker game played as a poker tournament.

The taxable base for gambling tax is determined for certain games by the Gambling Act.

Sales taxes

The gambling tax depends on the type of the game. Since the publication concerns gambling that can be organised online, the tax on betting is: 2.5% – betting on sports competition of animals under permits granted solely for the organisation of said betting; and 12% – any other betting. The tax liability for gambling tax arises on the date of commencement of gambling activities.

Gambling tax constitutes the income of the state budget. Gambling tax is paid monthly into the account of the competent Tax Office.

Tax on players

In addition to gambling tax, winnings in certain gambling games are subject to personal income tax. In particular, winnings obtained by participants in slot machine games, card games, dice games, wheel games, cash bingo, and raffle bingo are exempt of personal income tax, and winnings in number games, lotteries, betting and telebingo are subject to a fixed rate tax of 10% if their value exceeds PLN 2,280

Betting

A base amount for a given calendar year is equivalent to an average monthly pay in the sector of enterprises, excluding bonuses for profits, in the second quarter of the preceding year, published in the announcement of the President of the Central Statistical Office in the Official Journal of the Central Statistical Office. The fees and charges are rounded up or down to the whole Polish zloty.

Please note, that the average monthly pay in the sector of enterprises, excluding bonuses for profits, in the second quarter of the preceding year, published in the announcement of the President of the Central Statistical Office in the Official Journal of the Central Statistical Office, in the second quarter of 2025, it is: PLN 8.918,94.

Financial security for organising betting through Internet is PLN 480.000,00– which is paid (it could be bank or insurance guarantee) separately.

The fee for an amendment to a permit - shall be 200% of the base amount.

The taxable base for gambling tax is in betting constituted by the sum of the amounts actually received by the operator receiving the betting transactions for placing the betting transactions.

A gaming tax rate totals for:

betting on sports competition of animals under permits granted solely for the organisation of said betting - 2.5%;

other betting than provided for in subparagraph (i) - 12%.

In addition to gambling tax, winnings are subject to personal income tax. Winnings in betting are subject to a fixed rate tax of 10% if their value exceeds PLN 2,280.

Summary of key fiscal parameters: the headline winnings-tax rate is 10% (current rate; the proposed increase to 15% was vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki in December 2025 and did not take effect); the gambling tax basis is turnover; and VAT/GST does not apply (no).

### Poland Gambling — Payments and banking

An entity organising gambling games over the Internet that has a licence or a permit or has notified the organisation of such games shall be obliged to conduct payment transactions, within the meaning of the Act of 19 August 2011 on Payment Services, arising from those games only via the payment ser…

Full analysis · 59 words An entity organising gambling games over the Internet that has a licence or a permit or has notified the organisation of such games shall be obliged to conduct payment transactions, within the meaning of the Act of 19 August 2011 on Payment Services, arising from those games only via the payment service providers referred defined in the above Act.

11 Oct 2026 Read update BLIK (Polski Standard Płatności), Poland's mobile payment system, began blocking transactions linked to domains on the Ministry of Finance illegal-gambling register from 1 September 2026. The mechanism was approved by the President of Narodowy Bank Polski and operates by checking the destination domain associated with each transaction against the register at the point of payment. The register itself holds over 55,000 domains and is reported to be growing by approximately 700 entries per month. This payment-rail control is additive to, not a replacement for, the pre-existing ISP-level DNS blocking regime, giving Poland a dual-channel mechanism for interdicting payment flows to unlicensed and offshore gambling operators.

22 Sep 2026 Read update BLIK, Poland's dominant instant-payment scheme, now blocks payment authorisation to domains listed on the Ministry of Finance illegal-gambling register, effective from 1 September 2026. The mechanism was approved by the President of the National Bank of Poland and applies to both domestic and foreign payment agents, meaning it is not limited to Polish-domiciled payment providers. This is a probable-confidence finding sourced from trade press rather than a directly retrieved primary Ministry of Finance or NBP document, but it represents a materially new enforcement layer in the payments landscape: enforcement against illegal gambling in Poland is no longer confined to ISP-level domain blocking but now extends into the payment-authorisation layer itself, closing off a channel that unlicensed operators had previously been able to use even where their domains were blocked at the network level.

14 Sep 2026 Read update BLIK, Poland's dominant instant-payment scheme, began blocking payments directed at domains on the Ministry of Finance's Register of Illegal Gambling Websites from 1 September 2026, a confirmed and material new payment-layer enforcement mechanism corroborated by two independent trade-press reports (Gambling News and Global Gaming Insider) both citing the same start date. This represents a structural escalation in the state's enforcement toolkit, extending beyond the established ISP/domain-blocking model to intercept transactions at the point of payment rather than only at the point of access. The mechanism applies to transactions directed at blacklisted domains regardless of whether the underlying operator is domestic or foreign-directed. No new evidence this cycle addressed other payment-method permissions or withdrawal obligations beyond this blocking mechanism.

### Poland Gambling — Marketing

As general rule, advertising and promoting wheel games, card games, dice games, machine games, and “Mutual Betting” (please see the Polish legal definition provided in the General betting overview) is prohibited under the Gambling Act. The prohibition does not extend to advertising and promotional a…

Full analysis · 672 words As general rule, advertising and promoting wheel games, card games, dice games, machine games, and “Mutual Betting” (please see the Polish legal definition provided in the General betting overview) is prohibited under the Gambling Act. The prohibition does not extend to advertising and promotional activities carried out on the website used for organising those games, specified in the license or permit obtained.

The Polish legislation has separately defined the following terms: advertising, promotion, sponsoring and, closely related to the latter, information about sponsoring.

Advertising means public dissemination of related activities:

trademarks or graphic symbols, other markings;

names and graphic symbols of gambling operators in the field of the aforementioned games; and

information about the places where such games or bets are played and the possibilities for participation.

Promotion means public:

presentation of said games or betting;

distribution of goods related to them (i.e. pens with company logos);

distribution of chips, tokens or proofs of participation in said games or their selling in public places; and

other forms of public messaging which encourages participation in them, or convincing of their advantages or encouraging to enter casinos or betting premises.

Sponsorship in the meaning of the Gambling Act is by definition linked to the concept of information on sponsorship. The essence of sponsorship comes down to the provision of specific funding to the sponsored entity in exchange for information on sponsorship. The possibility of sponsoring is not limited by law, but significant limitations are connected with the possibility of informing about it. Informing about sponsorship is understood to mean presentation of notices containing the name or other marking distinguishing the sponsor in connection with the sponsorship provided.

Information about sponsorship provided by an entity which operates betting alone or betting in combination with other activities not covered by the restrictions regarding advertising, promotion or information is permitted only through presenting information containing the name or other distinctive sign of the sponsor.

Betting

According to the provisions of the Gambling Act, advertising “Mutual Betting” (please see the Polish legal definition provided in the General betting overview) for which a permit has been granted shall be permitted, on condition that such an advertisement:

is not addressed to minors, it does not show minors, and does not take place with the participation of minors;

does not associate the organisation of games or participation in games with physical fitness, intellectual performance or a chance of scoring an easy win;

does not include statements to the effect that participation in gambling games has a relaxing, calming effect or is a way to solve personal conflicts or financial problems; (iv) does not present refraining from participation in games or moderate participation in games as a negative thing;

does not encourage paying higher stakes as a factor increasing the chances of winning; and

does not evoke associations with: sexual attractiveness, relaxation or rest, learning or working, and/or professional, life or financial success.

Such advertising shall not be run:

on television, on the radio, at the cinema, and at the theatre between 6am - 10pm, excluding advertising run during broadcasts of sports events of which an entity conducting activity in the area of “Mutual Betting” is a sponsor or where such an entity is a sponsor of a team or of a competitor actively participating in a given sports event;

in children’s and youth press;

on the covers of daily newspapers and journals; and

in places open to the public, excluding mass events and sports events of which an entity conducting activity in the area of “Mutual Betting” is a sponsor or where such an entity is a sponsor of a team or of a competitor actively participating in a given sports event, or is a sponsor of a sports association that is connected with a given event.

Lottery: As a general rule, advertising and promoting lotteries is prohibited under the Gambling Act. The prohibition does not extend to advertising and promotional activities carried out on the website used for organising promotion lotteries, specified in the granted permit for organising such lotteries.

### Poland Gambling — Technical compliance

Online operators must process and archive game and participant data on equipment installed within the EU/EEA (Art. 15d) — a soft localisation/EEA-hosting requirement. The Ministry of Finance approves game terms and conditions and technical setups; certification by an accredited body is required. Acc…

Full analysis · 67 words Online operators must process and archive game and participant data on equipment installed within the EU/EEA (Art. 15d) — a soft localisation/EEA-hosting requirement. The Ministry of Finance approves game terms and conditions and technical setups; certification by an accredited body is required. Access interdiction is active: domain-takedown power is present via the Domain Register, ISP blocking is systematic, and payment blocking applies. Crypto payments are not permitted.

### Poland Gambling — Distribution and platforms

## Infrastructure

In the case where gambling games are organised over the Internet, devices processing and archiving data concerning those gambling games shall be installed and stored within the territory of a Member State of the European Union (“EU”) or a member state of the European Free Trade As…

Full analysis · 303 words ## Infrastructure

In the case where gambling games are organised over the Internet, devices processing and archiving data concerning those gambling games shall be installed and stored within the territory of a Member State of the European Union (“EU”) or a member state of the European Free Trade Association (“EFTA”) – a party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (“EEA”).

An entity organising gambling games over the Internet shall be obliged to archive, in real time, in an archiving device situated within the territory of the Republic of Poland or a EU Member State, or a member state of the EFTA - a party to the Agreement on the EEA, any data related to a gambling game organised thereby, including data exchanged between that entity and a gambling game participant, enabling the determination of the course and result of gambling games and transactions arising from those games, as well as data necessary to identify the gambling game participant.

## Integrations

An entity organising gambling games over the Internet shall be obliged to provide authorities of National Revenue Administration with access, including remote access, to the data referred to in the above paragraph, stored in an archiving device, and shall make appropriate tools and software guaranteeing data security available for this purpose

## Software certification

For internet based betting, the operator must document:

(a) the address and technical documentation of the website to be used for the placing of the bets,

(b) the proposed rules for verifying that participants in the betting are over 18 years of age,

(c) an expert evaluation of the proofs of participation in the betting, confirming that they are tamper-proof and that their authenticity can be verified,

(d) rules for the storage and recording of betting capital.

No literal regulation requiring the presentation of a software certificate

22 Sep 2026 Read update A draft Penal Code amendment introducing Article 255b would criminalise the public dissemination of audiovisual content that promotes or streams illegal gambling. The bill has been received by the Sejm and is backed by the governing coalition, giving it meaningful legislative momentum, though it remains at draft stage rather than enacted law and its durability is accordingly mixed. Trade press refers to the measure as the "Patostreaming" bill, reflecting its origin in concern over gambling-adjacent streaming content. For operators, affiliates, and streamers whose promotional or distribution model touches livestreamed or influencer-driven content referencing gambling, this represents a new potential criminal-liability exposure specifically targeting the distribution channel rather than the underlying gambling activity itself, and should be tracked through its remaining legislative stages before being treated as settled law.

9 Sep 2026 Read update The patostreaming bill is this cycle's material development for distribution and platform rules, targeting the streaming and influencer channels used to promote illegal online gambling. Passed by the Sejm 419-19 and pending Senate action, it would introduce criminal exposure, three months to five years imprisonment, specifically for promotional conduct on these channels, rather than for the underlying gambling operation. This is a new and direct legal risk for any affiliate, streamer, or influencer marketing arrangement touching the Polish market, whether the promoted operator is licensed elsewhere or not. Durability is mixed given the bill's pending status; corroboration rests on three independent Tier-3 trade-press sources without Tier-1 confirmation this cycle. No other distribution or platform-rule developments, such as app-store or payment-provider restrictions, were evidenced this cycle.

### Poland Gambling — Enforcement

## Regulating bodies

General supervisory authority for gambling rests with the minister competent for public finance i.e. Ministry of Finance. The ongoing supervision of gambling in Poland, as well as enforcement, is carried out by the National Revenue Administration. The Opole Customs and Fiscal O…

Full analysis · 1359 words ## Regulating bodies

General supervisory authority for gambling rests with the minister competent for public finance i.e. Ministry of Finance. The ongoing supervision of gambling in Poland, as well as enforcement, is carried out by the National Revenue Administration. The Opole Customs and Fiscal Office (Opolski Urząd Celno-Skarbowy) has been appointed to deal with matters relating to the Register of domains used to offer gambling in contravention of the Act.

## Supervision by Regulator

Entities organising gambling games and conducting activity in this area shall be obliged to provide, at the request of the minister in charge of public finance, information concerning their functioning.

Entities organising and conducting activity in the area of gambling games shall be obliged to submit to the minister in charge of public finance or the director of a tax administration chamber competent to grant a given licence, as appropriate, by 21st day of the month following every calendar quarter, economic and financial data related to their activity, with a special emphasis on the turnover, the financial result, economic indicators, in particular the employment rate, and statistical indicators used by those entities.

The procedure of transmission and the detailed scope of the data are defined by a new regulation of the Minister responsible for public finance of 29 March 2022

Pursuant to the applicable regulation, the entity organising and conducting gambling activities shall transmit, among others, the following data:

data confirming the fulfilment of the condition - in the case of betting on guessing virtual events;

number of players and other player statistics - in the case of online gambling, i.e. data on the number of players by age bracket on the last day of the reporting period; data on player activity in the reporting period; data on gaming activity in the reporting period

data to verify the compliance of the activity with the licence or permit granted and with the approved gambling regulations, and to shape gambling policy.

## Enforcement against licensed operators

If a licensed operator breaches the law, the licence or the provisions of its T&Cs, the Minister of Finance may issue a decision requiring the company to cure deficiencies within a determined period. Furthermore, the regulator may revoke the licence in the following cases:

(i) the operator fails to cure deficiencies in a timely manner;

(ii) the operator materially breaches any provisions of law which apply to the gambling operations;

(iii) the share capital of the operator is reduced below the statutory minimum;

(iv) the company decides to resign from operating games or does not offer them for a period of six months (the latter applies only to casinos and bingo game arcades);

(v) a board member or a shareholder is convicted for a money-laundering crime;

(vi) a minor participates in games twice in the same betting arcade (does not apply to online betting);

(vii) the company fails to provide AML documentation as requested by the regulator;

(viii) the company fails to provide an audited financial statement (or when the auditor’s opinion indicates material breach of accounting laws); or

(ix) the company has been conducting gaming activity through a foreign EU/EFTA operator without having appointed a representative for a period of at least two months.

The decision on licence revocation is effective at the moment of its receipt; therefore, the operator whose licence has been revoked must refrain from operating, even if it decides to challenge the decision (the obligation to refrain lasts for the period of an appeal procedure).

## Typical triggers for enforcement against unlicensed operators

Sanctions can be initiated particularly against payment service providers providing payment services on a website using an Internet domain name entered in the Register of Domains Used for Offering Gambling Games Contrary to the Act, kept by the Minister of Finance. Sanctions can also be initiated against telecommunications undertakings that have not fulfilled the obligations to prevent access to internet websites which have been blacklisted and fail to redirect attempted connections to a website run by the Ministry of Finance.

## Enforcement action taken against unlicensed operators

Criminal and administrative sanctions are the enforcement method in Poland.

Sanctions can be initiated against illegal gambling operators as well as players using these illegal websites.

Sanctions can be initiated particularly against:

illegal gambling operators;

users playing on illegal websites;

participant in the process of production or dissemination of gaming advertisements in breach of the law;

payment service providers providing payment services on a website using an Internet domain name entered in the Register of Domains Used for Offering Gambling Games Contrary to the Act, kept by the Minister of Finance;

telecommunications undertakings that have not fulfilled the obligations to prevent access to Internet websites using the names of blacklisted domains and to redirect connections referring to blacklisted domains to a website run by the Ministry of Finance.

Criminal sanctions: formal investigation against persons involved in organising gambling games without a licence, persons who advertise them contrary to the law, or gamblers playing unlicensed games may be commenced upon the provisions of law, as all of the above mentioned constitute criminal fiscal offences.

Administrative sanctions: financial penalties, a right to blacklist a domain which is used to organise and offer unlicensed gambling to Polish individuals and a website blocking procedure – once the domain is blacklisted, the internet service provider is obliged to block the website to unable its further use by individuals.

Betting

An amendment to the Gambling Act introduced 1 June 2021 provides significant change in the field of blacklisting of domains. According to the Act, foreign and domestic operators offering online betting without a licence shall expect entering the domain used for organising betting to be entered in the Register of Domains Used for Offering Gambling Games Contract to the Act (the Registry).

According to the new sound of Article 15f, paragraph 4, domains available to Internet users located in the territory of the Republic of Poland shall be entered in the Register. According to the previous regulation, in order to register a domain, it was necessary to prove that it is directed to service users in the territory of the Republic of Poland. From 1 June 2021, the "availability" of the domain to users located in Poland is sufficient ground for entering the domain into the Register.

Also, according to the abovementioned amendment, not only will the names of Internet domains used to organise gambling contrary to the provisions of the Act be entered in the Register, but also the names of domains used to advertise or promote unlawful gambling available to Internet users located in the territory of the Republic of Poland. Thus, after 1 June 2021 the Register also includes websites that serve to advertise and promote online casinos and gambling games that are not operated in compliance with Polish law, in particular affiliate websites.

These regulations also provide for changes in the approval of entries or changes in the Register. Before 1 June 2021, any change in the Register had to be approved by the competent minister for public finance or a secretary of state or undersecretary of state in the office serving the minister for public finance authorised by the minister. In accordance with the Regulation of the Minister of Finance of 23 May 2022, the Opole Customs and Fiscal Office (Opolski Urząd Celno-Skarbowy) has been appointed to deal with matters relating to the Register of domains used to offer gambling in contravention of the Act.

After entering the domain into the Register, the domain owner is entitled to file an objection by the competent minister for public finance in order to prove that the entry was groundless. At the same time, according to the additional amendment to Article 15f Section 9, the deadline for considering objections has been extended from 7 to 14 days.

As of 16 October 2026, there are approximately 59,000 blacklisted domains. The Register can be found under: https://hazard.mf.gov.pl/

Other enforcement measures that could be taken towards an operator offering unlicensed betting might be following:

Criminal sanctions - formal investigation commenced against persons involved in organising betting without a licence, players and persons or entities advertising such betting; and

Administrative sanctions - financial penalties.

22 Sep 2026 Read update The defining enforcement development this cycle is the extension of illegal-gambling enforcement from domain-blocking to the payment-rail level. BLIK, Poland's dominant instant-payment scheme, began blocking payment authorisation to domains listed on the Ministry of Finance illegal-gambling register from 1 September 2026, following approval by the President of the National Bank of Poland, and applies to both domestic and foreign payment agents. This is a probable-confidence finding, sourced from trade press rather than a directly retrieved primary Ministry of Finance page, but it marks the first identified payment-rail-level blocking mechanism for this jurisdiction. Consistent with the civil-law enforcement-theory pattern, unlicensed gambling operation is an offence under the gambling statute itself, with blocking regimes as the secondary enforcement vector; this cycle's development extends that secondary vector from domain-level (ISP) blocking to payment-level blocking. A separate but related development, the draft Article 255b Penal Code amendment criminalising promotion or streaming of illegal gambling, would add a distribution-side criminal-liability layer alongside the existing statutory licensing offence and the new payment-blocking mechanism, received by the Sejm and backed by the governing coalition, though not yet enacted.

14 Sep 2026 Read update Poland's enforcement architecture expanded materially this cycle. BLIK, described as one of the country's dominant payment processors, began blocking payments directed at domains on the Ministry of Finance's Register of Illegal Gambling Websites from 1 September 2026, corroborated by two independent trade-press reports citing the same date — a confirmed, structurally significant extension of enforcement from ISP/domain-blocking into the payments rail. Separately, the Sejm passed the "End of Patostreaming" bill 419 votes to 19 on 12 June 2026, which would criminalise influencer and streamer promotion of illegal gambling with penalties of three months to five years' imprisonment; this is not yet law, remaining fragile pending legislation awaiting Senate action and further steps, with its final disposition unconfirmed this cycle. Under the civil-law enforcement-theory pattern generally applicable to Poland, unlicensed gambling operation is an offence under the gambling statute itself, with blocking and now payment-restriction mechanisms functioning as the operative secondary enforcement vectors; no articulated safe-harbour doctrine exists for intermediaries caught within this framework. Taken together, these two developments read as a coordinated tightening of the state's enforcement toolkit rather than isolated actions.

9 Sep 2026 Read update The Sejm passed the End of Patostreaming bill by a 419-19 vote, criminalising the promotion of illegal online gambling by influencers and streamers, with penalties ranging from three months to five years imprisonment. The bill is pending Senate action and is not yet in force; its durability is mixed, given its status as a Penal Code amendment still moving through the legislative stack rather than settled law. Corroboration comes from three independent Tier-3 trade-press sources; no Tier-1 regulator or Ministry of Finance confirmation was reached this cycle, which caps confidence at probable rather than confirmed. This marks a probable shift toward criminal-law rather than purely administrative enforcement against unlicensed gambling promotion, consistent with the civil-law pattern of grounding enforcement in the primary statutory instrument itself rather than a secondary licence-breach theory. The practical effect, if enacted, is to attach direct criminal exposure to the promotional channel, streaming and influencer marketing, independent of the underlying operator's own licensing status.

### Poland Gambling — Outlook

Casino: There is only one legal online casino in Poland - Total Casino, organized by the state-owned company – Totalizator Sportowy. In June 2025, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (“KNF”) sent a letter to payment service providers regarding cooperation with entities organising illegal gamb…

Full analysis · 202 words Casino: There is only one legal online casino in Poland - Total Casino, organized by the state-owned company – Totalizator Sportowy. In June 2025, the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (“KNF”) sent a letter to payment service providers regarding cooperation with entities organising illegal gambling. The letter concerned the provision of payment methods by PSPs despite their customers providing illegal services. The KNF letters described the phenomenon and recommended appropriate corrective measures.

Skill games: Although in the year of 2019 a national daily newspaper Dziennik Gazeta Prawna informed that following an analysis of the country’s gambling legislation, the Polish Ministry of Finance decided that loot boxes was not any form of gambling, we know that the Ministry is currently taking a fresh look at the issue. The position of the Minister of Finance on this issue should be monitored. Since 2023, the Ministry of Finance has been conducting analyses and industry consultations on loot boxes in response to growing interest in this topic at the EU level. The Ministry of Finance is monitoring the work of the European Commission and countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, which are attempting to regulate loot boxes as gambling or products subject to consumer restrictions.

11 Oct 2026 Read update Three tightening instruments remain in Poland's legislative pipeline, none yet enacted. A draft amendment would classify paid loot boxes as a gambling product; public consultations were slated to begin 4 January 2026, sponsored by Poland 2050, though confirmation of a first reading was not available. A Penal Code amendment would criminalise influencer promotion of illegal online gambling, with penalties reported at three months to five years' imprisonment, and remains before the Sejm. A separate amendment to Gambling Act Articles 6a(6), 15f(4)(6)(9), 90 and 90a, which would extend the illegal-domain register to advertising and promotion domains and reassign fine-imposition power from the Minister of Finance to the head of the competent customs-and-tax office, remains before the Senate. Together these signal a continuing tightening trajectory, though the Journal of Laws primary text for the Senate amendment has not yet been retrieved.

28 Sep 2026 Read update Poland's reform horizon this cycle carries three concurrent, unenacted threads. First, a Ministry of Finance draft would create a new licence category for games involving virtual goods, proposed for a two-year term and exempt from the state monopoly and standard tax treatment; it has not yet been formally tabled before the Sejm. Second, a draft amendment to the Excise Duty Act and Personal Income Tax Act, project UD289, would raise the withholding tax on gambling winnings from 10 to 15 percent from 2026 and extend it to winnings earned abroad in other EU and EEA states; it is currently before government. Third, a Penal Code amendment bill introduced in early 2026 would classify promotion of illegal online gambling by influencers as a serious criminal offence. None of the three has reached enactment. Taken together, they point to a regulatory environment moving simultaneously toward a narrow new licensing opening and a broader tightening of tax and marketing-liability rules, with the ultimate shape of each still to be settled by the Sejm and government.

22 Sep 2026 Read update Three concurrent reform tracks define Poland's reform horizon this cycle. First, a draft amendment would classify loot boxes as gambling, subject to public consultation from 4 January 2026, granting two-year licences with randomness disclosure and age-control conditions. Second, draft Act project UD289 would raise the flat-rate winnings tax from 10 to 15 percent, targeted for 2026. Third, a draft Penal Code amendment introducing Article 255b would criminalise public dissemination of content promoting or streaming illegal gambling, received by the Sejm and backed by the governing coalition. All three are probable-confidence, draft-stage developments rather than enacted law, and none has yet been corroborated against a primary Sejm or Ministry of Finance source. Taken together they represent a coordinated tightening trajectory across product scope, fiscal burden, and criminal liability, and an operator should treat enactment of any two of the three as the threshold event that would materially change the operating calculus.

14 Sep 2026 Read update Three reform tracks remained live in Poland this cycle. First, a draft Gambling Act amendment to add "games for virtual goods" (loot boxes) as a new licensed product category, with licences valid for two years, remains under Sejm review; consultations were reported to have opened on 4 January 2026, but no further advancement was confirmed this cycle. Second, the "End of Patostreaming" bill, criminalising influencer and streamer promotion of illegal gambling with penalties of three months to five years' imprisonment, passed the Sejm 419 votes to 19 on 12 June 2026 and is pending further steps in the Senate; its final Senate and presidential disposition is unconfirmed. Third, the winnings-tax rate remains contested between sources: one account describes a pending increase from 10% to 15%, while a later tracker entry reports a presidential veto preserving the 10% rate, with no primary-source (ISAP/Dziennik Ustaw) confirmation reached this cycle. Together these three tracks represent an active tightening trajectory rather than a stable baseline.

9 Sep 2026 Read update Poland has three active reform tracks running concurrently this cycle. The patostreaming bill has passed the Sejm (419-19) and awaits Senate action, with the Prime Minister having requested action from the Senate or Sejm speaker to advance it. The Ministry of Finance opened a public consultation on 4 January 2026 on adding loot boxes as a licensable gambling activity class, which would make Poland the third EU state, after Belgium and the Netherlands, to regulate loot boxes as gambling. The winnings-tax rise to 15 percent under Draft Act UD289 is targeted for January 2026 effect. A separate, single-sourced and uncorroborated claim of a consolidating Gambling Modernisation Act cutting the online turnover tax from 12 percent to 10 percent conflicts with other sourcing and remains flagged Uncertain pending primary-source confirmation. Collectively these tracks show real legislative momentum toward a tighter regime, though none has yet consolidated into a settled new baseline.

Evidential record & source register 2 enforcement · 26 red flags · 14 sources · Expand full record

## Enforcement record

What the regulator has actually done, newest first. 2 recorded events.

- 14 Apr 2025UKNF / PSPs · Unlicensed operators (payment rails)ProbableSource 4 · T3
- 1 Jul 2017Ministry of Finance / KAS · Unlicensed online operatorsConfirmedSource 2 · T1

## What gets operators fined

26 red flags (14 high, 9 medium) and 6 controls that address them.

- highUsing crypto as a gambling payment railNot permitted under the Gambling ActSource 2 · T1
- highModelling betting margins on a GGR assumptionTax is 12% of turnover, not GGR — effective burden much higherSource 7 · T3
- highAdvertising without a licence or outside permitted windowsArt. 29a prohibition; only licensed operators may advertiseSource 2 · T1
- highRelying on BLIK/domestic rails as an offshore operatorPSPs withdrew rails from unlicensed sites after UKNF warningSource 4 · T3
- highUnderfunding share capital below PLN 2MStatutory minimum; sub-minimum capital is a revocation groundSource 1 · T1
- highHosting/archiving data outside EU/EEAArt. 15d requires EU/EEA processing/archivingSource 1 · T1
- highFailing to register as a GIIF obliged entityAML-documentation failures are a revocation groundSource 4 · T3
- highOperating an unlicensed slot-machine parlourKAS raids and criminal prosecutionSource 5 · T3
- highAllowing gambling on creditProhibited; RG-regulation breachSource 9 · T3
- highInsufficient 18+ age verificationStatutory 18+ requirement; minors' access is a breachSource 2 · T1
- highConvicted shareholder/officer for ML crimeRevocation ground under the ActSource 4 · T3
- highEU/EEA operator without a Polish branch/representativeBranch/representative required for non-PL entitiesSource 3 · T2
- highLaunching without MoF game T&C/technical approvalPre-launch approval requiredSource 10 · T3
- highTargeting PL from offshore via clone domainsGrey-market team + EU cooperation escalatingSource 5 · T3
- mediumMajor rebrand/domain change without re-approvalPermit is tied to approved website/scopeSource 9 · T3
- mediumLate monthly gambling-tax filingFilings due by 10th of following month; penalties applySource 9 · T3
- mediumTV/radio betting ad outside 22:00–06:00Time-window restriction breachSource 4 · T3
- mediumAffiliate promoting unlicensed sitesSubject to blocking/sanctionSource 4 · T3
- mediumNo agreement with sport organisation for resultsMutual-betting organiser needs such an agreementSource 6 · T3
- mediumUnnotified shareholder change crossing 10% thresholdsNotification with source-of-funds proof requiredSource 11 · T3
- mediumAssuming imminent private online-casino openingNo enacted liberalisation; monopoly stableSource 5 · T3
- mediumPlanning launch on a sub-6-month timeline~6-month MoF review plus setupSource 9 · T3
- mediumUnderfunding PLN 480K online securityRequired financial security for online bettingSource 9 · T3
- criticalOffering online casino/poker/slots to Polish players as a private operatorReserved to state monopoly; no private licence existsSource 2 · T1
- criticalOperating without a Polish permitDomain Register block + payment block + Art. 107 criminal exposureSource 10 · T3
- criticalAssuming a Malta/Curacao EU licence permits PL accessForeign licences are not valid in Poland; operators are blockedSource 14 · T3

### Controls

- 001Local entity + branch structuringEstablish PL sp. z o.o./S.A. or EU/EEA company with PL branch before applying.Source 3 · T2
- 002Capital & security fundingFund PLN 2M share capital and PLN 480K online security ahead of application.Source 9 · T3
- 003EU/EEA hostingLocate processing/archiving infrastructure within EU/EEA per Art. 15d.Source 1 · T1
- 004AML/GIIF registrationRegister as obliged entity; implement CDD/EDD, PEP and BO checks.Source 4 · T3
- 005Advertising compliance gateRestrict advertising to licensed channels and 22:00–06:00 broadcast windows.Source 4 · T3
- 006RG operational packDeploy MoF-approved RG regulation, 18+ checks, no-credit and spend-exhaustion controls.Source 9 · T3

## Worked scenarios

5 entry scenarios, each with the move we would make.

#### EU operator wants to offer online casino to PL players

Online casino is a Totalizator Sportowy monopoly; no private licence exists. Targeting PL players is unlicensed activity subject to blocking and criminal exposure.

Do this: Do not pursue online casino in PL; consider only mutual betting.

Source 2 · T1 Source 6 · T3

#### Operator seeks online sports-betting entry

Establish PL entity (or EU/EEA + branch), fund PLN 2M capital + PLN 480K security, host data in EU/EEA, secure MoF permit (~6 months).

Do this: Proceed via mutual-betting permit; budget 12% turnover tax.

Source 8 · T3 Source 9 · T3

#### B2B platform supplier wants a PL licence

No B2B licence pathway exists; supplier contracts directly with permit-holding operators who retain compliance responsibility.

Do this: Supply to licensed operators; no standalone authorisation available.

Source 4 · T3

#### Offshore operator relies on BLIK

After the UKNF warning, PSPs including BLIK withdrew from unlicensed sites, removing rails used by ~80% of customers.

Do this: Offshore PL targeting is commercially and legally unviable.

Source 4 · T3

#### Operator plans aggressive TV advertising

Only licensed operators may advertise; broadcast adverts limited to 22:00–06:00 with alcohol-style content restrictions.

Do this: Constrain media plan to permitted windows and content; secure approvals.

Source 4 · T3

## What we looked for and could not find

Confirmed absence is a finding of its own. These are the questions we searched and could not answer from a citable source, with the searches we ran. Never behind the paywall.

Competitive landscape. licensed operator count is approximate (~24 as at 2023, T3 source); not refreshed from a clean MoF T1 register snapshot at run date.

- searched: Poland sports betting licensed operators count 2026 Ministry of Finance register
- searched: lista podmiotów posiadających zezwolenie zakłady wzajemne 2026
- searched: Poland Ministry of Finance current betting permit holders list
- checked: gov.pl

Fees. precise application/permit fee schedule beyond statutory base amount and capital/security thresholds not retrieved from a T1 fee table.

- searched: Poland gambling permit application fee schedule statutory base amount
- searched: opłata za zezwolenie zakłady wzajemne wysokość 2026
- searched: Poland betting permit fee per website base amount
- checked: isap.sejm.gov.pl

## Source register

Every source on a four-step tier scale. A claim is never shown at a stronger tier than the source it cites.

14 sources · 2 tier 1 · 1 tier 2 · 11 tier 3

No. Source Tier Verification

1 PL-GAMBLING-ACT-2009 T1 of 4 Source 1 · Open in drawer →

2 PL-GAMBLING-AMENDMENT-2016 T1 of 4 Source 2 · Open in drawer →

3 PL-DUDKOWIAK-2026 T2 of 4 Source 3 · Open in drawer →

4 PL-ICLG-2026 T3 of 4 Source 4 · Open in drawer →

5 PL-IMGL-2025 T3 of 4 Source 5 · Open in drawer →

6 PL-CMS-2026 T3 of 4 Source 6 · Open in drawer →

7 PL-KGLEGAL-BETTING T3 of 4 Source 7 · Open in drawer →

8 PL-ALTENAR-2025 T3 of 4 Source 8 · Open in drawer →

9 PL-LEGASSET-2026 T3 of 4 Source 9 · Open in drawer →

10 PL-LEGALPILOT-2026 T3 of 4 Source 10 · Open in drawer →

11 PL-LEXOLOGY-LANDBASED T3 of 4 Source 11 · Open in drawer →

12 PL-ALTENAR-USENTRY T3 of 4 Source 12 · Open in drawer →

13 PL-IGAMINGTODAY T3 of 4 Source 13 · Open in drawer →

14 PL-BRAVEWORDS-2025 T3 of 4 Source 14 · Open in drawer →

### Claims with their own provenance

Online casino games are a state monopoly of Totalizator Sportowy.

· ·

Source 2 · T1

Sports betting is taxed at 12% of turnover.

· ·

Source 7 · T3

## Related coverage