POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Marek Plota and Anna Klaja-Gogolewska, RM Legal
• PLN480,000 (approximately EUR112,000) – for online betting operations. The number of required financial securities increases proportionally with the number of operated venues. An operator managing between one and three casi- nos, bingo halls or betting points must provide one financial security. This requirement rises to two securi- ties for operators managing four to six venues, and to three securities for those with seven to nine. Where an operator conducts activity in ten to 20 establishments, four securities are required. The obli- gation further increases to five securities for 21 to 30 venues, and six securities for 31 to 40 venues. For every additional ten venues above 40, the operator • bank or insurance guarantees, under which the guarantor irrevocably undertakes to pay, upon request of the licensing authority, any due gam- bling tax (including interest) and player claims aris- ing from gambling participation; or • cash deposits made to the bank account desig- nated by the licensing authority. Only entities authorised to issue guarantees within the EU or EFTA may act as guarantors, including banks, branches of foreign banks, and insurance undertak- ings operating in Poland with the right to provide guar- antee instruments throughout the national territory. All deposits must be made in Polish currency ( zloty ). 4.9 Ongoing Annual Fees Polish legislation does not impose annual regulatory or maintenance fees on licensed gambling opera- tors once a licence or concession has been granted. Instead, the ongoing financial obligations arise from the gambling tax regime. 4.10 Personal Licensing Polish gambling law does not rely on stand-alone per- sonal licences. Instead, the Gambling Act focuses on ensuring the integrity and suitability of individuals who perform managerial or operational functions within licensed gambling companies. Personal authorisation must provide one additional security. Financial security may take the form of:
therefore takes the form of fit-and-proper verification, rather than standalone personal licensing. Personal authorisation requirements apply to members of man- agement boards, supervisory boards and sharehold- ers of licensed or concession-holding entities.
5. Land-Based Gambling 5.1 Premises Licensing
Land-based gambling can only be conducted in approved and licensed venues that meet the statuto- ry definition of gaming establishments. These include casinos, bingo halls and gaming machine salons, each of which must operate in a designated, separated area that restricts access to persons under 18 and ensures compliance with advertising and responsible-gaming rules. A casino is defined as a dedicated venue where rou- lette, card, dice and machine games are conducted under an approved set of rules, with at least four live- table games and between five and 70 slot machines installed. Bingo halls are similarly defined as desig- nated premises where cash bingo is played under a separate authorisation, and slot machine salons may host between three and 50 machines. Totaliza- tor Sportowy is the only entity authorised to operate gaming centres in the form of slot machine gaming parlours, as it exercises the state monopoly on slot machines outside casinos. Each venue must operate under a licence or conces- sion granted following the submission and approval of a detailed game regulation that specifies the types of games to be offered, the technical equipment used, as well as the internal control and security measures in place. The premises must be equipped with moni- toring and recording systems and must comply with all technical and operational standards established in the implementing regulations. Any modification, relo- cation or change in the number of games or devices requires prior approval from the competent authority.
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