Poland to legalise online slots in regulatory overhaul

The Polish government this week revealed plans to legalise online slots for the first time as launch of the country’s new regulatory framework continues to gather pace.

The Ministry of Finance on Monday announced a draft amendment to the government’s impending legislation which included allowing licensed operators, subject to responsible gambling, to offer online slots games.

Online poker would also be liberalised under the current proposals, while offline slots would come under the jurisdiction of a state monopoly.

However, the government stopped short of revealing additional details regarding taxation levels for online gambling which are currently among the most restrictive in Europe for Polish operators.

Vice Prime Minister Jaros??aw Gowin previously said he would prefer to see an end to the current 12% turnover tax in favour of a 20% rate derived from revenues.

Under his current plans, 7% of the revenues derived from gambling would go to the development of Polish sport, while a further 3% would go to a problem gambling fund.

The draft proposals revealed this week by the Ministry of Finance are now expected to go to consultations between the various government ministries.