Poland is working to draft new gambling legislation, which will also include provisions addressing Internet gambling.
Finance Minister Zyta Gilowska in November 2006 created a team consisting of specialists from the Ministries of Finance, Treasury and Sport--The Gambling Chair of the Permanent Committee of the Cabinet (TGC)--to draft the new law.
Within the TGC, there are three different currents of thought: a strong monopoly around the National Lottery, Totalizator Sportowy Sp. z o.o. (TS); a full, free market; or a mixed market between TS--including Internet rights--other operators and a strong regulator.
“It’s hard to comment on Polish government steps,” Tomasz Piotrowski, Country Manager, Betsson, Poland, told IGN. "They are unpredictable."
“Lately the news is depending on which newspaper you read," Piotrowski continued. "They all have different sources, coming from the political parties. Some say that the Gambling Bill will not be changed at all; however, this will be against the European law, especially after the Placanica case."
Piotrowski thinks that the Polish state will continue to grant TS "special status" as the market's biggest player. He said the government is reluctant to make changes, due to the fact that it is not sure how they will affect its offline monopoly interests.
“The other thing is that, even now, [the government is] thinking of a Swedish Model, with several monopolies, and allowing Internet gambling," Piotrowski said.
Last year, Betsson launched an online promotion together with mBank, the leading Internet bank in Poland. Piotrowski said that, in the near future, Betsson plans to surprise the market with another promotion.
The largest foreign players targeting Poland are Betsson, SportingBet, bwin, Unibet and Expekt.
According to GamblingAnalysts.eu, the foreign operators targeting the Polish market in 2006 had a turnover of between 650 and 675 million euros (between $885.4 and $919.4 million).
Poland has 38.1 million citizens, 29.9% (11,400,000) of whom are Internet users.