Online Gambling in Poland
Online gambling in Poland is largely unregulated. There's a ban on foreign online gambling sites. However, the ban is very loosely enforced, so Polish players have the opportunity to gamble online.
There are no Polish online gambling sites running right now because the government does not hand out licenses.
However, the Polish government has recently considered offering online gambling licenses. Casinos in Poland are also pushing for the right to offer their services online. As of this writing negotiations are still under way.
In late 2009, following weeks of political scandal, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was determined to ban online gambling in the EU-member state.
The new legislation will outlaw all gambling that takes place outside land-based casinos, including online gambling, while imposing higher taxes on legal gambling operators. The first draft of the proposed reform will be ready in two weeks.
Online gamblers may shrug off yet another crack down on their favorite past time, given that numerous countries have imposed heavy restrictions on internet gaming since its inception. The Polish prohibition, however, is no typical gaming ban, coming in the wake of a gambling scandal that has already cost the Polish prime minister the backbone of his government.
Four senior Polish officials have been forced to resign in recent weeks on suspicion of letting gaming industry lobbyists exert inappropriate influence on political decisions.
About Poland
Poland, officially known as the Republic of Poland, is located in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north.
Poland is the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. It covers an area of about 312,679 square kilometers (around 120,726 square miles).
With a population of over 38 million people, Poland is 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union.
The establishment of a Polish state is often identified with the adoption of Christianity by its ruler Mieszko I in 966, over the territory similar to that of present-day Poland. The Kingdom of Poland was formed in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin, forming the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.