Key questions and answers

Gambling – legal situation in Poland

While gambling is a form of entertainment and should be seen as such by the players themselves, it is also the subject of the gambling industry, which is regulated by Africane law. This means that the rules of operation of gambling operators, issues related to the implementation of their services, as well as those related to the rights and obligations of players, are strictly specified in the relevant legal acts. In order to make it easier for players to find information on the various aspects of what is prohibited, what is allowed and under what conditions, and to clarify all the most important issues related to gambling in Poland, we have prepared the following guide.

What is gambling?

Let's start by explaining what gambling and gambling are. Generally speaking, gambling is always a game, but not every game is a gamble. In gambling, the key element is randomness, randomness of the result and risk of losing or chance of winning "something", usually money and sometimes certain things. . These 2 elements are closely related to each other, since the game is random, you can not predict its outcome, which is why the risk is so great here. However, it can be argued that individual gambling games are random to varying degrees. If we buy a lottery ticket, it all depends on our "luck". In turn betting bookmakers to a certain extent, we influence the accuracy of our types – sports knowledge is of great importance here, but no one can 100% predict, for example, the outcome of a match, so here the case is also of great importance. Thus, whenever a game involves the risk of losing the funds wagered and its result is more or less random, we can safely talk about gambling.

Gambling-the law

Let's move on to the legal issues. In Poland, the basic legal act that regulates gambling matters is "Act of 19 November 2009 on gambling" . Although the law was created in 2009, it has already been seriously amended and really big changes have been made to it. Amendment adopted on 15 December 2020 it proved to be a watershed moment for the entire gambling industry, introducing m.in. state monopoly on online casinos and slot machines or by passing a provision on the need to maintain the so-called Register of prohibited domains. The changes were aimed reducing the grey area in the gambling industry , first of all, to limit the possibilities of illegal online gambling operators. The second issue was to ensure increased player safety by including in the act solutions to prevent gambling addiction and obliging gambling operators to use them.

In the following part of the article, we present individual issues based on the unified text of the so-called Gambling Act. For people who want to read the provisions of the act in their original wording, we provide the appropriate links at the end of the text.

Gambling – definition

To begin with, it is good to clarify what exactly the legislator understands by the term "gambling". They belong to them.:

• bookmakers ,
• card games ( poker , blackjack, baccarat),
• slot games ,

and random games to which they belong:

• number games ,
• lotteries (cash, fantasy, promotional and audiotex),
• telebingo game ,
• bingo game (cash or Fanta),
• cylindrical games (e.g. roulette ),
• dice games .

An important point is the fact that these games are conducted for cash or cash prizes, so in the case of playing, for example, poker matches, the provisions of the Gambling Act do not apply. In turn, the question of whether gambling is organized in a traditional form or online gambling is no longer relevant – in the sense that the law specifies the rules for both types of games.

Gambling – who can organize?

As it is not difficult to guess, in order to have the right to organize a certain type of gambling in Poland, you must first obtain the appropriate permit. The Minister of Finance of the Republic of Poland is responsible for issuing concessions or licenses, but not all forms of gambling in general can be applied for permission. So let's start with them.

Gambling covered by state monopoly

According to the amendment to the Gambling Act Africane state has a monopoly on running an online casino , and thus to all typically casino online gambling, such as slot machines, poker, blackjack , roulette, etc. Thus, a casino offering online gambling is as legal as possible, however, provided that we use the site of an entity designated by the state, in this case Totalizator Sportowy (State Treasury company). Other online casinos available in African are operating against the law and any online gambling offered by them is illegal. The second area covered by the state monopoly is fixed slot machines, which, although they can be found in licensed casinos, however, when it comes to slot machines outside casinos, can only be found in the salons of the game run by the state (again, the monopoly is realized by the Totalizator Sports). The same applies to number Games, cash lotteries and telebingo games, if they are organized outside the casino . Gambling in this form is therefore strictly limited by the provisions of the law.

Gambling-permits

Entities that meet certain requirements may apply for a permit to conduct business in the organization of other gambling activities. As for land-based casino concession in addition to meeting a number of conditions, it is also important limit the number of casinos which may operate in the area. According to the provisions of the law on gambling, in a given Village for every 250 thousand. residents can operate 1 land-based casino, while in each province there can be no more casinos than 1 per 650 thousand. people. Legal casinos also operate on African-owned ships and passenger ferries.

In turn, another type of gambling – mutual bets – can be offered by companies that have received from the Minister of Finance permit to conduct betting services in African territory. A separate license is issued for operating through a network of fixed points, and a separate one for arranging sports betting via the Internet (the company can apply for one or both types of permits). Also in this case, obtaining a license is not easy, firstly, the company must meet formal requirements, such as, for example, have the required share capital or have the appropriate legal form. Secondly, it is necessary to submit an application and a number of documents related to the planned activity and the company itself. In the case of a betting licence, there is no limit to the number of licences issued. However, both the permit for running a casino and the organization of betting is issued for a period of 6 years with the possibility of its extension.

Register of prohibited domains

In addition to the introduction of a state monopoly on selected gambling games, another very significant provision of the 2020 amendment concerned the creation of "Register of domains used to offer gambling in violation of the law" . This register is a list of internet domains where entities without the required permission offer casino games and other online gambling. The search for such sites is carried out by specialized employees of the African Customs and Tax Office, and the targeted sites are added to the list posted on the public government website. The so-called prohibited domain registry is therefore certainly useful for people who are not sure if a given site offers online gambling legally. This may not be clear especially in the case of betting sites. However, when it comes to legal online casino this is only offered by The Sports Totalizator on a special website, so it is obvious that all other domains on which we will find, for example, poker or online roulette, are definitely illegal.

Secondly, the registry of prohibited domains is an auxiliary tool blocking pages on which there are illegal gambling. The law obliges telecommunications companies to, in addition to imposing a block on such a site, additionally redirect users to a government service. There is only a message about the illegality of the site and adding it to the Register of prohibited domains and warning against the penalties that threaten people involved in illegal gambling. Internet providers have only 48 hours to comply with this obligation from the moment the site is registered – under the threat of high penalties. In addition payment providers are also obliged to terminate the service agreement , so banks and other operators of payment systems must cease to cooperate with the service, which will be in the register (within 30 days). All this makes it very difficult for illegal bookmakers and other gambling operators to operate on the Africanm market and in fact has definitely reduced the gray area in Poland.

Verification of identity and age of players

It is also important for players to note the the age of majority those who want to participate in gambling. This provision is intended to protect the youngest internet users and potential young players, who, according to research, are most susceptible to gambling addiction. The age limit is of course most important for minors, as they have neither the right to enter the casino games, nor to enter the online casino or to open websites run by illegal bookmakers. However, the legal provisions in this matter also indirectly affect those players for whom, according to the law, gambling is fully available. In order to comply with the rules, it is necessary to implement player verification procedures . Everyone who enters the land-based casino must identify themselves using an identity document, after which they receive an entrance card confirming successful registration.

In turn, those players who are interested in online gambling, there is a requirement to register an individual player account on a given website (both on the online casino website and on betting sites). It is always mandatory to provide your real personal data in the registration form, but this is not enough – it is also necessary sending a scan or photo of an identity document . On this basis, the gambling operator verifies the identity and age of the player, and in case everything is in order, activates the user account. If there are any objections, as a rule, additional documents should be sent.

However, it is worth knowing that in addition to the full registration of the account, betting operators usually allow the possibility of so-called. fast or simplified registration which does not require you to send a photocopy of your identity document. Simply provide the most basic personal and contact information, thanks to which a temporary account is created. It allows you to perform most of the activities on the site, so you can see how online gambling and the broadly defined implementation of the service look like in practice (e.g. making payments, using bonuses, functions available on the site or in the mobile application). The main difference between a full account and a temporary account is the inability to withdraw winnings in the case of the latter solution. So, if we want to transfer the collected funds to a bank account, we must complete the registration process by sending a scan of the identity card or passport.

Rules of responsible gaming

The Gambling Act imposes on gambling operators the obligation to prepare and implement the rules of responsible gaming. Land-based casinos, online casinos and bookmakers - internet and landline. This is a mandatory point of applying for a permit to host a particular gambling game – the regulations must be submitted together with the application for a license or concession and be approved by the Minister of Finance . At the time of launching the activity (and of course later as well), it must be made available in a visible place, and players should be able to familiarize themselves with it before starting the game. Its main task is protecting players from gambling addiction and the law specifies exactly what type of information must necessarily be included in the regulations of this type.

The rules of the responsible gaming definitely say how the age of users will be verified by a given gambling organizer and what the registration of users will look like. It must also foresee and describe the mechanisms by which users will be able to self-control their own game and automatically block those players who run out of funds for the game. It is also important to inform users, for example, about the organizer or gambling permit, about the Prohibition of gambling for minors, the risk of gambling addiction or institutions that help addicts.

Gambling – what are the taxes?

Game tax

Gambling is not only entertainment for players, but also duties. First of all, this concerns tax liabilities, however, different gambling games are subject to tax of different amounts. On betting, the legislator imposed a 12% turnover tax therefore, from each coupon, regardless of whether it is won or not, 12% of the deposited rate must be paid to the Tax Office. It is charged in advance by the bookmaker, and therefore not 100% of the amount contributed by the player is involved in the game, but only 88% of it. This is not a comfortable situation for players, especially since such a procedure does not result from the provisions of the law, and the practice adopted by the organizers of mutual bets. An exception to this rule are promotions commonly called the "tax-free game" when the game tax pays bookmaker and the entire stake is rotated. In this case, if the player bets the right types, his winnings are about 14% higher than standard.

When it comes to other gambling games, the situation of players is better. True, for them, the Gambling Act defines the amount of taxation, and taxpayers are entities organizing casino games, but they do not deduct the amount of tax from the rates paid. Thus, the issues related to the payment of the game Tax are not so palpably felt by the players themselves. For formality, however, let's specify the amount of tax for individual games:

• 10% – fantasy lottery and fantasy bingo game,
• 15% - lottery money,
• 20% - number game,
• 25% - cash bingo game, telebingo game, audiotex lottery and poker in the form of a poker game tournament,
• 50% - slot game, cylindrical game, dice game, card game (without poker tournament),
• 2.5% - mutual bets on sports competition of animals.

Tax on winnings

Another issue is the tax on winnings, which does not have to be paid by all players, since only some gambling games involve the need to pay it. These include, for example, bookmakers – if a player wins more than $ 2280, 10% of the winning amount is deducted to pay tax . If the win is $ 2280 or less, we are dealing with a tax exemption, and so the player receives the entire winning amount. Let's look at two lists.

Gambling games that applicable tax on winnings with a one-time value of more than $ 2,280 (10%):

• mutual bets,
• number games,
• telebingo games,
• cash, promotional, audiotex and fantasy lotteries.

Gambling games which not applicable tax on winnings (10%):

• slot machines,
• card games,
• dice games,
• cylindrical games,
• money and fantasy bingo games.

If the tax on winnings relates to a gambling game, its organizer collects it from the amount won and pays it to the tax office, and the player pays 90% of the winning amount. However, if the tax is not applicable, the player should remember to obtain certificates of winnings from the organizer of the given gambling game. They should be issued in the form of a letter that can be presented in case of fiscal control. All provisions relating to this tax are contained in the "act of 26 July 1991 on personal income tax".

What are the penalties for illegal gambling?

Despite the various mechanisms that are used in Poland to limit the activities of operators offering illegal online gambling, many operators still offer casino games and betting without special permission. If a player is wondering whether to use the services of one of them, it is worth to be aware of the penalties for participating in illegal gambling provided for by law. Firstly this applies to all forms of illegal gambling. . thus, regardless of whether a player bets illegally on each other, or plays gambling in an illegal online or land-based casino, he always runs the risk of high financial penalties. Secondly, a participant in illegal gambling can be punished both on the basis of the Gambling Act and the Penal Code .

As far as the Gambling Act is concerned, it provides for a penalty for all persons who participate in gambling organized unlawfully and it does not matter whether they were aware that the procedure is illegal or not. In the event that it is proved that the player, for example, made betting bets on a website whose owner does not have permission to do so, the typer must pay a penalty of 100% of the funds won . The amount to be paid is not reduced by the bet amount.

The second fine may be imposed on the basis of the tax code. However, it is important that the player proven conscious action so the fact that he knew he was breaking the law. If confirmed, the fine could be very high. Illegal gambling can be punished penalty of up to 120 daily rates . The amount of the rate is determined by the court individually, as well as the number of rates that will be applied to the fine. For the maximum number of bets with the highest possible amount, the player can receive a penalty of $ 3.6 million (in 2023). And although the possibility of being sentenced to prison has disappeared with the amendment of the Penal Code of 2021, nevertheless, the amount of financial penalties should also effectively discourage "playing" illegal gambling.

Gambling for free

Free gambling games it can be understood in two ways. First, they can be demo versions of games available in a legal online casino . The legal casino of Totalizator Sportowy provides various gambling games for free – slot machines, poker, blackjack, roulette, etc. Thanks to this, an unregistered player can play any free gambling games and thus check what a given game is in the online version. The game is therefore referred to as free, because you do not need to deposit any money, but it has the disadvantage that you can also not win anything . This is just pure selfless fun and only because it can take place without account registration .

Free games of Chance have a slightly different meaning when it comes to betting (although an online casino may offer them as well). There are no demo versions, but typer sometimes has the opportunity to play for free. Legal bookmakers prepare various types of bonuses and promotions, thanks to which you can sometimes get completely free funds for the game (for example, as part of a welcome package or on the occasion of an important sporting event). Using the so-called freebet, you can place a sports bet without making any deposit, and in the case of a hit type, receive a win. Of course, all these free gambling games are organized in accordance with the law and as long as we use the services of legal gambling organizers, we can safely reach for the options offered by them.

Important links:

http://prawo.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/DocDetails.xsp?id=WDU20220000165 -Gambling Act (after entering the site, select the version Consolidated text )