Lotteries, competitions and promotional activities in Poland

Last updated: 12.05.2025

Lotteries, competitions and promotional activities are very commonly used in the marketing of both large businesses and small entities. The survey ‘Nagrodomania, or promoting by rewarding‘ conducted in August 2023 on behalf of Pluxee Poland by IRCenter shows that:

• 80% of Poles have taken part in various types of promotional campaigns over the past year. Almost half of them (43%) use this type of action several times a month,
• 66% of respondents admit that they are more likely to buy products that allow them to win a prize in a competition, lottery or other promotional action,
• 72% of Poles say that by participating in a competition, sweepstake or sales promotion, they find it easier to remember a brand or specific product associated with a promotional action.

Source: Nagrodomania, or promotion through reward, p. 5.

None of the above forms of promotion are mutually exclusive. A promotional lottery can be organised alongside a promotional action. This leads to the simple conclusion that the variety of promotional actions positively influences the position of the entrepreneur on the market. Learn more about the benefits and processes involved in lotteries to maximize your promotional strategies.

Promotional lotteries, raffle lotteries and competitions. What are the differences between them?

Each of the listed games can be used by businesses as a form of promotion and advertising or as a good way to integrate employees. There are important differences between the mentioned forms of entertainment, mainly regarding their legality, cost and the time needed to play them legally.

The following characteristics describe the most relevant aspects of organising a lottery and a competition.

The legal conditions for organising a promotional lottery and a raffle lottery will be presented first, followed by the conditions for the competition.

In the Polish legal system, a promotional lottery is an example of a game of chance, which means that its organisation is subject to the regime of the Act on Gambling (Journal of Laws of 2023, item 227, hereinafter: the Gambling Act or GA). Legally conducting this type of lottery under Polish law requires obtaining a permit.

According to Article 2(1)(10) of the Gambling Act, one participates in a promotional lottery by purchasing:

• goods,
• service or other proof of participation in the game,
• and thereby participate in the lottery free of charge and the entity organising the lottery offers winnings in cash or in kind.

This means that the purpose of the lottery comes down to advertising the services or goods of the entrepreneur through their purchase, which involves participation in the lottery. The prize can be money (e.g. PLN 5,000 in cash, a gift voucher of the same value), specific items (e.g. a car, a smartphone, a voucher for a trip around the world, etc.)

Number of promotional lotteries organised in recent years

Source: Information on the execution of the Gambling Act in 2022, 2021, 2020.

Do the regulations indicate the specific value of prizes or the relationship between the value of winnings and lottery tickets? The gambling legislation generally describes that the value of the winnings in gambling games must not be less than the price of the ticket or other evidence of participation in the game or the amount of the stake paid. In other words, the winnings must not represent a lower value than the value of the lottery ticket.

Unlike a raffle lottery, no percentage relationship between the value of winnings and tickets has been established while organizing a promotional lottery.

In practice, this leads to controversy regarding the organization of a promotional lottery, as the good or service presents a relatively small market value (e.g. an electronic book), not much greater than the value of the lottery ticket. Thus, the tax administration authorities are not able to question the intentionality of a promotional lottery.

What is the purpose of promoting an item of negligible value? The objective is to reach the widest possible audience (a promotional lottery is exempt from the ban on advertising and promotion, moreover, it can be targeted at minors) and to maximize revenue from the tickets sold. In other words, there is a serious optimization of the costs of the promotional lottery and a significant increase in the revenue generated.

This is how social media influencers particularly often operate.

Is such activity illegal? Absolutely not, nor is there any suggestions that there is going to be an amendment to the Gambling Act that would in any way reduce a fairly common trend.

The promotional lottery is an effective lever for business development, regardless of the economic sector. In our experience, the promotional lottery benefits a wide range of industries, just to name the following:

• fashion industry,
• tourism industry,
• FMCG industry,
• fuel industry.

The groups of entities holding promotional lotteries are also diverse. The most common interest in a promotional lottery is:

• entrepreneurs with a stable market situation (including state-owned companies),
• entrepreneurs entering the Polish market who are just promoting their goods and services (using multiple marketing campaigns),
• associations,
• foundations,
• shopping centre managers.

The income from a promotional lottery does not have to be earmarked for any specific purpose; in almost all cases it represents the sole profit of the entrepreneur. The Gambling Act does not impose any obligations in this respect.

In other words, the entrepreneur, when holding a lottery, has the opportunity to promote his brand, the goods and services he offers.

How much does it cost to obtain a license to hold a raffle lottery?

A permit to organise a promotional lottery requires you to pay a fee equal to 10% of the value of the prize pool, but not less than 50% of the base amount (PLN 3682.15, approximately 860 EURO). Considering the possible profits from organising a lottery, the minimum fee is small.

Raffle lotteries

Raffle lotteries can also be held either upon notification or license. The final qualification depends on the value of the prizes.

One takes part in a lottery by purchasing a lottery ticket or other proof of participation in the game (e.g. proof of payment for the purchase of a ticket) and the entity organising the lottery offers only winnings in kind (Art. 2(1)(10) of the Gambling Act).

Importantly, the income from a raffle lottery cannot constitute a profit for the entity organising the lottery, as the Gambling Act clearly excludes its commercial nature. The entire income obtained from a raffle lottery must be allocated to the realisation of socially useful purposes (e.g. charity in the form of support for charitable organisations).

This purpose must already be specified in the rules of the game and the license granted. Then, after the lottery has ended, a report confirming that the socially useful purpose has been fulfilled must be submitted to the relevant tax administration authority.

What can be a prize in kind?

It is easier to say what it cannot be, namely a cash prize. The practice of organising raffle lotteries has provided many examples, ranging from watches, cosmetic sets, toys to perfume. The only limitation may be the total value of the prizes.

In the case of the fanfare lotteries, the wording of the Gambling Act describes the relationship between the value of the tickets and the value of the winnings, which is as follows:

the total value of the winnings of a lottery may not be less than 30% of the total price of the tickets or other evidence of participation to be sold.

Number of fancy dress lotteries reported over the years

Source: Information on the execution of the Gambling Act in 2022, 2021, 2020.

Why are lotteries, competitions and promotional activities popular?

The popularity of lotteries and competitions is supported not so much by the relative simplicity of their organisation, or the low cost and time required for their preparation, but mainly by the possibility to promote and advertise it in the media without significant restrictions on other gambling games.

It is worth noting that promotional and fantasy lotteries are exempt from two major prohibitions on almost all gambling:

• the prohibition on advertising and promotion described in Articles 29-29b of the AG (advertising of a promotional lottery may be broadcast on television, in the press or on social media) and
• prohibition on the participation of minors in gambling games article 27(2) of the AG (minors may participate in a promotional lottery on the same terms as adults).

The Gambling Act does not create complex requirements for entities wishing to organise promotional lotteries. Unlike in the case of casino games or betting, an entrepreneur does not have to comply with numerous orders related to, for example, the amount of share capital, the establishment of a supervisory board or other requirements of a corporate nature, etc. Under Article 7(1) of the AG to organise a promotion lottery may apply:

• natural persons,
• legal persons or
• organisational entities without legal personality.

Nothing prevents entities not based in Poland, or even in the European Union, from legally organising promotional lotteries and fantasies in the Republic of Poland. We also advise on the choice of the correct form, branch or proxy as described in the Gambling Act.

What is the competition?

Is the competition a gamble? No.

A competition is a form of public promise, an institution regulated by the Civil Code (Article 919 of the Civil Code, i.e. Journal of Laws 2024, item 1061, 1237). A public promise is a unilateral declaration of intent addressed to an unspecified group of people.

When the organiser of a competition announces the promise of a prize, it is obliged to fulfil the promise. The prize can be awarded to the one who fulfils the conditions set out in the announcement, and it is not necessary for the other party (the participant) to agree to this promise.

The essence of a competition is not randomness at all, but the subjective selection of a winner within a set criterion (described, for example, in the rules and regulations, although this document is not mandatory). The competition does not require the permission, license or consent of authorities.

Thus, there are no statutory requirements relating to, for example, the value of the winnings or the rules for advertising the competition.

The organiser of the competition may be:

• natural person,
• legal entity or
• an unincorporated entity.

What should be included in the rules of the competition?

The elements of the rules of procedure, like the competition, are not described in the regulations. Thus, the organiser is entirely free to construct the rules adopted. Only the most useful elements are presented below. Each competition should be approached individually.

1. Description of the organiser of the competition: Information about the person or institution organising the competition, including contact details, address for delivery, and details identifying the companies.
2. Indication of the purpose of the competition: Brief presentation of the main objectives and theme of the competition.
3. Describe the circle of participants: identify who can take part (e.g. describe age, place of residence) and any exclusions (e.g. organiser’s employees, their relatives, etc.).
4. Definition of the principle of participation: details of how to apply, what you need to do to participate (e.g. submit your application as soon as possible at a specific time, or a description of how to perform the task).
5. Evaluation criteria (one of the most relevant elements): a description of what the criteria will be for the committee to review the work.
6. Description and awarding of prizes: information on the prizes awarded, their value and how they are awarded.
7. Listing deadlines: indication of key dates such as the deadline for entries, announcement of results, time and place for prize collection.
8. Description of how personal data will be protected: Information on the processing of participants’ personal data, in accordance with data protection legislation.
9. Description of receiving, handling and communicating the outcome of complaints.
10. Example of final provisions: rules concerning possible changes to the rules, delivery, persons responsible for organising the competition, how to contact the organisers, etc.
11. Consent to publication: a clause in which participants agree to the publication of their work or images in promotional materials.
12. Organiser’s reservations: Reservation of the right to exclude participants for non-compliance with the rules and regulations.

What is the difference between a competition and a lottery?

The key difference between a competition and a lottery is the presence and importance of randomness at the winner determination stage.

In a competition, there is no randomness factor at all, as the skills and knowledge of the participants determine the results, and their performance is assessed by, for example, a specially appointed committee that sets the rules and criteria for judging the entries. This factor is the complete opposite of gambling, where only randomness is responsible for selecting the winner.

In other words, for gambling the randomness is dominant, for the competition it is marginal (if present at all).

In addition, the organisation of the lottery is subject to a number of injunctions and prohibitions, which appear from the stage of its organisation to its completion and settlement. The competition is free from any interference by public authorities.

FAQ – Lotteries, competitions and promotional activities in Poland