Betting sites in Poland
Poland, the country that gave Fryderyk Chopin and Marie Curie to the world, is known not only for its proud heritage but also for its increased appetite for sports as well. In recent years, the Polish national football team has shown a great form and Robert Lewandowski dominates the Bundesliga’s top goalscorer table for many years in a row. One might assume that betting sites in Poland would be thriving given the appetite for sports shown by the Polish. However, the authorities’ approach to online gambling less than encouraging. Online betting and national lotteries are legal in the country but heavily monopolized as decreed by the Gambling Law passed in November 2009. In this article, you will find the best sports betting sites Poland has to offer as well as the newest legislative changes on online sports betting.
Top international bookmakers in Poland
How Betting Takes Place in Poland
The first step to regulate the online betting landscape in Poland was taken through the 2009 Gambling Law that introduced a number of harsh regulations, despite efforts from various gambling lobby groups to sweeten things. It is believed that these efforts to obtain a more laissez-faire legislation were the very reason the first Polish gambling law was one of the most restrictive in Europe.
Even though the most restrictive regulations applied for online casinos, many online betting sites in Poland were also discouraged by these changes. And despite pressure from both the lobby groups and the EU Commission, Poland did not amend its gambling laws until 2016. With this new amendment that also concerned betting sites, Poland aimed to make it look like they would liberalize the market. However, the amendment that came into effect in April 2017, came with even more restrictions for online gambling like:
- The introduction of a blacklist that included all the unlicensed casinos and bookies operating within the country and offering their services to Polish players.
- All the domains that entered the blacklist were forcefully blocked by the ISPs and also banks and financial institutions of Poland were restricted from processing payments towards these sites and their bank accounts.
Despite the hardening measures that came with the 2016 amendments, some improvements were also brought to the original law.
- Advertisement was allowed to continue for legal bookmakers. Poland is definitely now known for a facile licensing system, however, once bookies obtained their license they can enjoy decent conditions.
- Wanting to get a piece of the casino action, slot machines were introduced for the first time at the state-owned Totalizator Sportowy.
According to the gambling law, a license is valid for 6 years once obtained and every operator must present a guarantee of PLN 480,000 regardless if they succeed in obtaining the license or not. Furthermore, many non-licensed bookmaker operators in Poland, have applied for a license, only to see their application refused as they had previously been included in the blacklist.
Things Every Betting Site in Poland Must Offer
While there aren’t a lot of options in terms of licensed bookmakers in Poland, those that really want to be a step ahead of the competition must deliver the following services for punters. A seriously rich offer of football markets as Polish punters are mainly focused on this sport above anything else, with tennis and volleyball markets being also a nice plus. Offering PLN as the standard currency is another thing online betting sites in Poland should consider since Poland hasn’t adopted the Euro yet and currency conversion is a big no to most punters. Last but not least, making online betting feel as smooth as possible by translating the website and offering customer support services in Polish is another big plus for bookies that wish to make themselves more appealing to punters in Poland.
Can Punters from Poland Access Foreign Betting Sites?
Since Totalizator Sportowy doesn’t make any effort into offering high odds and appealing betting services due to the lack of competition, looking at foreign betting sites is mandatory for punters that want a proper betting experience. And even though unlicensed Polish betting sites are blocked by the ISPs, punters can still gain access by using a VPN software or the mirror websites often provided by the operators. Even more than that, there are many Polish punters that are forced to use VPNs to access some of the most well-known bookies like bet365 and bet-at-home that were market leaders before the law changed. You no longer need to guess which betting sites operate in Poland, you now have our comprehensive list to make sure you get the most out of your betting action.
What Payment Options Can I Use on Polish Betting Sites?
Along with the amendments to the gambling laws came some payment restrictions towards unlicensed bookies. So, punters that manage to access these via mirror websites or VPNs should also take into consideration some payment methods that are secure and can maintain their privacy. All cards and services offered by local banks are out of the discussion as these are blocked by authorities so these can only be used on betting sites legal in Poland.
Alternative payment options like EcoPayz, Skrill, Neosurf or cryptocurrency are your best bet to making instant deposits and also withdraw your winnings when playing at unlicensed bookies. Przelewy24, the local payment option that enables bank transfers towards bookmakers can also be used mostly for licensed online betting sites. Poland is still considered an emerging market from a payment options point of view, however, there’s a lot of potential.
Are Betting Exchanges Available in Poland?
At the moment, there are no betting exchanges licensed or in the process of being licensed in Poland. This doesn’t mean that betting exchanges are out of reach since just like with football betting sites Poland offers, punters can simply use a VPN to gain access to exchanges like Betfair or Smarkets. The experience you get from a betting exchange is in many ways similar to what a bookie offers, however, the odds are most of the time higher since bets can be proposed by other punters. Besides that, there’s usually a commission on winning bets so that means the house margin is considerably low or nonexistent in some cases.
Where Can I File a Complaint About a Polish Betting Sites?
In case you’re betting at one of the licensed bookies in the country, address the Ministry of Finance since that’s the official authority dealing with online betting and gambling. However, if you choose the improved services of foreign betting sites, you can solve any dispute by addressing to the authority that issued their license. Also, you can always count on us to resolve any problem you may encounter with any bookmaker.
Full list of Polish bookmakers
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