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The 17th European Economic Congress, held in Katowice, saw Polish gambling executives acknowledge that existing regulatory shortfalls have enabled the black market to encroach on Poland’s beleaguered and disoriented gambling sector.

A panel of gambling stakeholders at the European Economic Congress recognises that “the online casino market in Poland is largely beyond the state’s control”.

An earnest assessment of Poland’s gambling status was provided at an event hosted under the auspices of the trade body Graj Legalnie Association (Play Legally Association) and Poland’s Sports Lottery – Totalizator Sportowy.

The dire scenario is underscored by market data: since the 2017 reform of Poland’s gambling laws, which granted Totalizator Sportowy exclusive rights to operate online casino games, approximately PLN 230bn (€50bn) has flowed to offshore operators. The figure reflects a disheartening setback for Poland’s Treasury, which is estimated to have missed out on PLN 5.8bn (€1.3bn) in unpaid taxes.

Despite the government’s intentions, the sector remains mired in regulatory ambiguity. Since the legislative shift eight years ago, which was designed to limit the shadow economy and enhance enforcement, critics argue the situation has only grown opaquer.

Wojciech Szpil, former head of Totalizator Sportowy and current chairman of the UN Global Compact Network Poland, highlighted the challenges faced by regulators. The pace of digital change, he argued, has far outstripped the state’s capacity to respond.

“We are talking about the internet now — a medium that reaches all of us through the phones in our pockets,” he observed.

Enforcement, he added, is ultimately in the hands of the Ministry of Finance and the National Tax Administration (KAS), but the operational capacity to track and prosecute offshore entities, operating from the likes of Malta or Curaçao, remains severely limited.

Zdzisław Kostrubała, President of Graj Legalnie, was more blunt. “We are not opposed to regulation — we are opposed to regulation that doesn’t work,” he said. The eighth anniversary of the Gambling Act passed on 1 April, whose stated purpose was to limit unlicensed activity and boost tax compliance.
Yet the Ministry of Finance now maintains a blacklist of nearly 50,000 domains hosting illegal games, many of which continue to operate. Blocking such platforms, Kostrubała remarked, has become a futile game of cat and mouse. “Monopoly is an anachronism,” he added.

Others echoed the sentiment. Piotr Palutkiewicz of the Warsaw Enterprise Institute noted that most Polish consumers are unaware that only one online casino – Total Casino is legally sanctioned. “The law has not kept up with the facts,” he said.

Even consumers who wish to play legally often find themselves inadvertently on illegal platforms. In contrast, most European Union countries have adopted licensing models that permit multiple operators under regulatory supervision — balancing consumer freedom with state oversight.

Olgierd Cieślik, who chaired Totalizator Sportowy from 2017-2024 and was the architect of Total Casino, warned that the legal market is growing far too slowly.

According to data from H2 Gambling Capital, legal operators are expected to gain just 4–5% of market share over the next five years. In 2024, legal gambling revenue stood at PLN 67bn (€14.6bn) — nearly matched by an estimated PLN 65bn (€14bn) from the illegal sector.

Cieślik also drew comparisons with other digital industries, noting that users are accustomed to accessing multiple platforms for entertainment – be it streaming, social media, or betting. A single-state monopoly, he argued, fails to meet these evolving expectations.

As regulators across Europe gravitate toward more flexible, market-based systems, Poland’s rigid approach appears increasingly out of step. The grey zone persists, not for lack of law, but for lack of effective governance.

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The “Grey Zone” panel was held as part of the European Economic Congress. The debate was held under the patronage of: Graj Legalnie Association (Play Legally Association) and Totalizator Sportowy (Sports Lottery).