Polish iGaming sector faces mounting pressure as experts call for reform of state monopoly

Poland’s restrictive online gaming laws are failing to curb the country’s growing iGaming gray market, industry experts warned during a panel at the European Economic Congress (EEC), calling for a shift from the current state monopoly to a regulated licensing model.

Data presented during the “Gray Zone” panel, held under the patronage of the Graj Legalnie Association and Totalizator Sportowy, revealed that since the 2017 amendment to Poland’s Gambling Act, PLN 230 billion ($57 billion) has flowed offshore to tax havens, depriving the state of PLN 5.8 billion ($1.4 billion) in unpaid gaming taxes.

Wojciech Szpil, former chairman of Totalizator Sportowy and now head of the UN Global Compact Network Poland, said enforcement has lagged behind technological developments. “The state has not kept up with the law to really get ahead of what the market can offer,” Szpil said. He highlighted the difficulty in prosecuting operators from jurisdictions such as Malta, Gibraltar, or Curaçao and emphasized that oversight rests with the Ministry of Finance and the National Tax Administration (KAS).

The panelists argued that Poland's monopoly-based model is outdated, pointing to the prevalence of illegal operators and the limited public awareness regarding which platforms are legal.

“There is only one legal online casino in Poland – Total Casino,” said Piotr Palutkiewicz, vice president of the Warsaw Enterprise Institute. “Even a consumer who wants to play legally, without knowing that he is dealing with only one legal entity, will inadvertently start playing at illegal casinos anyway.”

Zdzisław Kostrubała, president of the Graj Legalnie Association, noted that April 1 marked eight years since the Gambling Act took effect, but said its objectives – including reducing the shadow economy – have not been achieved. “We, as an association, are absolutely not against regulation. We are against regulation that does not work,” he said, describing site-blocking efforts as a “cat-and-mouse game.”

Olgierd Cieślik, who led Totalizator Sportowy from 2017 to 2024 and launched Total Casino under the state monopoly, cited data from H2 Gambling Capital showing that the legal market’s revenue in 2024 stood at PLN 67 billion, compared to PLN 65 billion from illegal, offshore operators. “The pace of fighting the gray market is far too slow,” he warned. “We will gain about 4–5% of the legal market in the next five years. This is too little.”

Panelists advocated for a licensing system, which is already in place across most European Union countries, allowing multiple legal operators and enabling stronger oversight while better aligning with consumer expectations in the digital entertainment space.

Despite the monopoly model’s intent to curb illegal gambling, experts said its limited scope and enforcement gaps have allowed the gray zone to persist and grow—underscoring the urgent need for legislative reform.