POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Marek Plota and Anna Klaja-Gogolewska, RM Legal
6. Online Gambling 6.1 B2C Licences
diaries may process payments between players and operators, ensuring traceability and compliance with anti-money laundering and consumer protection rules. 6.3 Affiliates Polish gambling law does not provide for a separate regulatory framework for affiliate marketing in the gambling sector. However, the use of affiliates by licensed operators is effectively regulated through the strict advertising, promotion and sponsorship restric- tions set out in the Gambling Act, particularly those concerning the advertising of betting services. Any advertising, whether direct or indirect, must com- ply with statutory requirements. Affiliates may only promote licensed betting operators that hold valid authorisation in Poland, while the promotion of unli- censed gambling websites is treated as illegal adver- tising of gambling. Websites facilitating access to unli- censed gambling are subject to blocking by internet service providers, based on entries in the official Reg- ister of Domains Used for Offering Gambling Games found promoting or supporting such websites, and may face administrative sanctions, as well as criminal fiscal liability. 6.4 White Labels There are no specific licensing or regulatory require- ments governing the use of white-label providers. The Polish Gambling Act does not introduce a dis- tinct framework for the approval or registration of white-label partners, and such arrangements are not expressly regulated or restricted. Licensed opera- tors may co-operate with white-label providers for technical, marketing or brand-related purposes, such as platform hosting, software provision or customer interface design, as long as the licensed operator retains full legal and operational responsibility for the gambling activity itself. The licence holder must remain the entity that organises the games, accepts stakes, determines outcomes, and pays winnings, while ensuring compliance with all statutory obliga- tions, including consumer protection, and data access requirements for supervisory authorities. White-label co-operation is therefore permissible in Poland, but only within the limits where it serves a
In Poland, there is no separate or distinct B2C licence regime as known in some other EU jurisdictions. Instead, the right to offer gambling services directly to consumers is strictly regulated under the licensing system established by the Polish Gambling Act, under which the only form of B2C online gambling licence available to private operators covers mutual betting (bookmaking). An online B2C licence for mutual betting authorises an operator to organise and offer betting services direct- ly to consumers via the internet. Such a licence is granted by the minister competent for public finance matters and authorises the operator to organise and offer betting, provided that it complies with all statu- tory and technical requirements. Licensed operators must have their registered seat within the EEA, oper- ate a “.pl” domain registered in Poland and remain accessible to the Polish supervisory authority. They are also required to implement effective age verifica- tion, anti-money laundering and responsible gambling measures. Other forms of online gambling fall under the state monopoly exercised by Totalizator Sportowy, and can- not be offered by private entities under a B2C licence. 6.2 B2B Licences (Suppliers, Software, Etc) Polish gambling law does not provide for a separate or distinct B2B licensing regime for suppliers, software providers, etc. Co-operation with third parties is permitted only inso- far as it does not involve the direct organisation or conduct of gambling activities. Suppliers providing services or technologies to licensed operators are nevertheless subject to several regulatory and tech- nical requirements that affect outsourcing and system integration. In particular, servers used for the opera- tion of online gambling must be located within the EEA, and the gambling software must ensure that Pol- ish authorities have real-time and on-demand access to all operational and transactional data, including those affecting the course of the game and financial settlements. Moreover, only certified financial interme-
374 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook