Blocking of gambling websites in Poland

Register of Non-Authorised Gambling Domains

Polish gambling law has a very restrictive approach to the organisation of gambling on the internet and its promotion or advertising. Gambling websites that are found to be illegal are blocked and entered into the Register of Non-Authorised Gambling Domains without any chance of taking a defence beforehand (hereinafter: “Register”).

For an Internet domain to be entered in the Register, it is sufficient for the Gambling Authority to consider that the domain in question is used to organise gambling or is used to advertise or promote gambling and is accessible to Internet users connecting from Poland in an illegal manner.

Under the Gambling Act, the organisation of online gambling is, in principle, subject to a state monopoly, which involves the requirement to obtain a licence or concession. Furthermore, the situation is made more difficult by the very broad definition of advertising and promotion of gambling, due to which even if you do not offer the possibility of logging in to your website to Polish users, it may still be blocked if it is deemed to be the promotion of gambling.

You end up on the list without notice!

It is therefore not difficult to get into the Register, moreover, if your domain is entered in the Register and blocked in the Polish Internet space, you will not receive any notification. Instead of the website at the address of the domain in question, everyone will see a notification from the Ministry that it is trying to connect to an illegal domain.

The registry is public (accessible here: https://hazard.mf.gov.pl/). The number of domains registered in it is growing rapidly. Recently it has been even 1000 domains more per month. Currently, the Register already contains more than 41,000 domains.

From the date the domain is entered in the Register:

1. the telecommunications operator has 48 hours to block access to your website,
2. the payment service provider is obliged to stop providing its h services on your website within 30 days,
3. the authorized entity has two months to file an objection to the Minister of Finance and request the deletion of the domain from the Register.

An objection may be filed by an entity providing gambling on a website using a domain name entered in the Register, or being a telecommunications operator, or holding a legal title to a domain name entered in the Register, or being a payment service provider.

In response to an objection, the Minister may decide to remove the domain from the Register or to keep it on the Register. The court route is then the remaining option.

Doubts about the compatibility of the Gambling Act with EU law

However, the compatibility of the Polish gambling law with EU law is questionable, if only because of the promotion of domains operating legally in other EU countries. As stated by the CJEU “National legislation having the effect of prohibiting the promotion within a Member State of games of chance lawfully organized in other Member States constitutes a restriction on the freedom to provide services” (see. Judgment of 2 March 2023, C-695/21).

Before you decide to provide a domain in Poland that may be considered gambling it is worth applying for an interpretation decision from the Minister. Doing so is a good way to be in compliance with gambling law. Our law firm will be happy to help you run a legal gambling business in Poland