Online betting operator bwin announced it has applied for a license, allowing it to offer its services on the Polish market. The gambling operator is among the flagship brands of the multinational sports betting and gaming services provider GVC Holdings and offers a range of iGaming products, including a sportsbook, live betting services, casino and poker platforms.
Apparently, GVC’s flagship sports betting brand seeks to remain on the Polish market despite the enforcement of the new Gambling Act in the country, which boosted taxes on wagering requirements for foreign iGaming operators to a shocking 12%. In addition, the new legislation explicitly prohibits foreign operators without Polish licenses from offering their products to residents of the country.
The online gambling operator posted a message on its Polish-facing website to inform customers it had already submitted its application for a Polish license. The message also stated that bwin maintains contact with the regulatory authorities in the country in order to keep close track of how things are progressing.
Following the publication of the message, bwin also temporarily suspended its services in the country so that Polish players are prevented from placing real-money wagers on the website, at least for the time being. This step is to be explained with bwin’s determination to remain in compliance with the Polish government’s new regulations in regard to online gambling. The message ended with bwin’s expressing confidence that Polish players would soon be able to use its website’s services again.
This was an unexpected move on behalf of bwin, considering the large-scale withdrawal of leading sports betting and casino operators from the Polish market in the past few weeks after the enforcement of the new regulations in the country on April 1, 2017. Key online betting operators the likes of Pinnacle, bet365, EnergyBet, Mr Green and Betfair were among the biggest brands to announce their plans on exiting the now-unfavourable Polish market.
Customers of the said operators were informed registrations of Polish players would no longer be accepted, while those with existing accounts were to withdraw their balances before the new legislation was officially enforced on April 1.
Despite the current unfavourable environment in Poland, some of the operators appeared reluctant to entirely give up on the market just yet. One example is leading sports betting and casino provider William Hill, which informed its Polish affiliates and customers that it is willing to return to Poland in the future should online gambling regulations become more advantageous for foreign operators.
At the present moment, only a few online gambling operators from Central Europe had decided to bother with obtaining licenses from Polish authorities, allowing them to operate on the territory of the country. What is more, many of the locally licensed operators already have a strong land-based betting presence on the Polish market.
Following the mass exodus of foreign operators from Poland, the country’s government promised to address the unreasonable 12% taxation on wagering requirements in the future. Meanwhile, Polish authorities have decided to see through their plans of blocking foreign operators without local licenses from the market.
The amendments in the new Gambling Act call for payment and domain-blocking measures, which are to be officially enforced as of July 1, 2017. The Ministry of Finance has already compiled a blacklist of websites that are to be blocked from operating in Poland.
- Author
Daniel Williams
