POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Marek Plota and Anna Klaja-Gogolewska, RM Legal
gambling if they meet these criteria. However, the cat- alogue of gambling activities is closed, meaning that only the types expressly listed in the Act are legally recognised as gambling under Polish law. 3.3 Definition of Land-Based Gambling Polish law does not contain a separate statutory definition of land-based gambling, but the concept is understood through the general provisions of the Gambling Act. In practice, land-based gambling refers to all forms of gambling that are organised in physical venues such as casinos, bingo halls, betting shops and slot machine parlours rather than via telecommu- nications or internet systems. Land-based gambling therefore encompasses these games when offered in Under Polish law, online gambling is understood as the organisation and participation in games using the internet or other means of electronic communication, where the outcome and participation occur through remote access rather than in a physical venue. 3.5 Key Offences Liability under Polish gambling law operates on two levels: administrative (under the Gambling Act) and fiscal-criminal (under the Fiscal Penal Code). On the organiser’s side, core offences include conducting or arranging gambling without the required licence, con- cession or notification, as well as operating games contrary to licence conditions or approved rules, using or maintaining unregistered slot machines, and adver- tising, promoting or sponsoring gambling in breach of statutory restrictions. Venue owners and tenants are also liable where unreg- istered or illegal gambling devices are found on their premises, regardless of whether they directly operate the games. Players may incur liability for participating in unlawfully arranged gambling or for taking part in foreign gambling offered on Polish territory without authorisation. 3.6 Penalties for Unlawful Gambling Under the Gambling Act, an infringing organiser may face high, statutorily fixed monetary penalties that are linked to the gravity and nature of the violation. licensed or concession-based premises. 3.4 Definition of Online Gambling
Fines are imposed for offences such as organising or conducting gambling without a required licence or concession, operating unregistered slot machines, breaching the conditions of a licence, or failing to register gambling devices. Penalties are often calcu- lated per device or as multiples of licence fees and may reach significant amounts intended to remove the economic benefit of illegal operation. Liability also extends to venue owners or tenants who allow unregistered gambling activities on their premises, as well as to payment and telecommunications providers that fail to block transactions or access to blacklisted operators. For example, an operator offering mutual bets (sports betting) without the required licence may be fined an amount equal to five times the official licence fee. Under the Fiscal Penal Code (Article 107), unlawful gambling constitutes a fiscal-criminal offence. Any- one who, in breach of the Act or licence conditions, organises or conducts gambling is subject to a fine of up to 720 daily rates, imprisonment of up to three years, or both (potential maximum fine amounts to PLN44,792,640 (approximately EUR9.95 million). Those who participate in a foreign gambling game or bet while on Polish territory without Polish authorisa - tion may be fined up to 120 daily rates (maximum of PLN7,465,440 (approximately EUR1.61 million). In aggravated cases, where the offence involves organ- ising collective participation for profit, the same maxi- mum penalties apply cumulatively. Where the infringe- ment is of lesser gravity, the act constitutes a fiscal misdemeanour punishable by a fine. In parallel, administrative enforcement is supported by systemic measures such as the register of prohibited domains, blocking of payments to unlicensed sites, and the public list of authorised operators maintained by the minister competent for public finance matters.
4. Licensing and Regulatory Framework 4.1 Regulatory Authority
Collectively, the minister competent for public finance matters, the National Revenue Administration and its regional authorities form a comprehensive regulatory
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