POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Łukasz Klimczyk, Maciej Skrzypek, Beata Danel-Skrzypek and Piotr Klepuszewski, SLK Partners
ards and integrity-monitoring mechanisms within Pol - ish sport. One of the most significant recent integrity cases affecting a Polish athlete arose in the context of gym - nastics. The case concerned manipulation of judging scores during the European Gymnastics Champion - ships, which determined Olympic qualification. The investigation established that a judge holding a sen - ior position within the European gymnastics structure had engaged in conduct influencing athletes’ scores, directly affecting the final ranking and Olympic quali - fication outcomes. The matter was examined by independent ethics bod - ies operating within the International Gymnastics Fed - eration’s framework. As a result, the judge received a four-year suspension for manipulating competition results. The decision was subsequently upheld by CAS. 1.3 Betting-Related Offences Legality of Betting Sports betting is legal in Poland provided that it is organised by operators holding a licence issued by the Minister of Finance under the Gambling Act. The following activities are illegal: • organising betting without the required licence; • participating in betting offered by unauthorised operators; and • operating or using platforms entered into the regis - The Polish regulatory model is based on a licensing system combined with strict market supervision exer - cised by the tax administration authorities. The principal legal act governing betting activities is the Act of 19 November 2009 on Gambling, which regulates, among other matters: • conditions for obtaining a bookmaker’s licence; • taxation rules applicable to mutual betting; • operators’ obligations related to preventing abus - es; and ter of prohibited domains. Regulation and Legislation
• state supervision over the betting market. In practice, sports regulations – rather than criminal law – constitute the primary mechanism for controlling betting-related conduct among participants in sport. In line with international integrity standards, almost all Polish sports federations have adopted disciplinary regulations which: • prohibit athletes, coaches, referees and officials from betting on events in which they participate or which may have an impact on their particular sport or league; • impose an obligation to report attempts to manipu - late sporting results; and • provide for disciplinary liability independent of any criminal proceedings. Such rules are particularly well developed in football and other popular sports in Poland, including volley - Information-sharing arrangements are based primar - ily on regulatory and contractual mechanisms rather than on specific statutory provisions. In practice, co- operation includes: • collaboration with betting operators licensed in Poland; • use of international betting monitoring systems; • exchange of information with international sports organisations; and • analysis of unusual betting odds movements as indicators of potential manipulation. 1.4 Disciplinary Framework In Poland, athletes’ liability for breaches of sports regulations operates within two parallel systems: • disciplinary liability, conducted by Polish sports federations and typically concerning integrity- related matters, including match-fixing and betting- related violations; and • anti-doping liability, conducted within the POLADA system and based on the WADC. ball and speedway. Information Sharing
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