Choosing the Best Online Casino in Poland

From the comfort of your home, you can explore different offerings from our list, and be confident in the knowledge that these online casino sites accept players from Poland and offer the same great games to any other customer around the world. Most of these online casinos in Poland provide mobile games too, so you can sneak in a betting session at any point throughout your day, whether it’s during your office break or your commute.

Other than a few of the bigger, publicly owned companies that tend to stay out of unregulated markets, most developers are happy to license their games for playing in Poland. You’ll be able to find a very wide variety of slots, table games, live dealer games, and other selections from creators such as:

• Novomatic
• NetEnt
• Betsoft
• Microgaming
• Yggdrasil Gaming

Novomatic produces the most played real money slots in Poland – both online and offline –with Sizzling Hot Deluxe, Lucky Lady's Charms and Lord of the Ocean among the best-loved games.

It’s a good idea to check the game selection of online casino sites in Poland before you sign up and start playing. That way, you’ll be sure to find your favorite titles when you make a deposit, then move on blissfully to testing your luck for some winnings.

Bonuses are another biggie. We guarantee you’ll be spoiled for choice here, because online casinos in Poland, as anywhere else, are in a constant tug-of-war to pull in new players with the best promotions. Once you join, you can claim a great choice of bonuses from our sites, including match bonuses, free spins, no deposit bonuses and cashback. Flip through the bonus features and go for the one that will give you the strongest leg up when you start betting.

Another thing to look out for when you’re choosing an online casino in Poland is the selection of payment methods on offer. Every player has their preferred banking option, be it prepaid cards, e-Wallets like Neteller or cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Make sure to check the banking section of a casino site too see that it offers you your favorite options. We understand that variety is important when it comes to deposits and withdrawals, so all our Poland online casinos offer a wide range of payment methods for you to choose form.

Online Gambling in Poland

The online gambling situation in Poland is complex. Due to the country’s political history and its religious tradition, gambling has seen a slow, unsteady uptake over the years. While progress has been made and online gambling in Poland is now legal – with increasing avenues for the hobby provided by the state – there’s a long way to go before it evolves into a free market.

While the government was updating Poland’s overall gaming laws in the 2000s, it also seized the opportunity to address the regulation of online casinos. The result of legislation passed between 2009 and 2011 was the heavy restriction of Polish online gambling sites, with only a limited number of sports betting websites being permitted, and a focus on lotteries. The Polish laws governing gambling are meticulous, detailed and can be quite harsh in their prohibitions. The laws make a distinction between casino games and betting, for instance. While online casinos in Poland are engulfed by stifling regulation, rules concerning online betting through products deemed acceptable by the state are more relaxed.

The country now allows online sportsbooks to apply for licenses for a duration of 6 years. Subsequently there were four operators who took advantage of this to set up shop. For a time, investment interest was limited by a provision that required any online casino sites in Poland wanting to get a license to open a physical office in the country. That clause was lifted in 2015 in a bid by authorities to attract more industry from foreign firms.

Without any full-service internet casinos or poker rooms, most of the big, popular real money gaming sites in the Poland operate from overseas in an unregulated space. That doesn’t mean that these sites are untrustworthy! On the contrary, many of the most reputable online casino sites in the world are available to Polish customers. These sites make up the bulk of the online gaming industry in the country simply because the market in Poland itself remains restrictive. In fact, estimates suggest that 90% or more of the gambling market is controlled by these unlicensed sites and this doesn’t deter Polish players in the slightest.

With an approximate turnover of €1.82 billion in 2018, it’s clear that Poland is losing out on some handsome revenue as it clings to its conservative outlook. The advantage of playing at foreign online casino sites in Poland is that no tax is paid on any transactions or winnings, which stands in contrast to the hefty 10% tax imposed on Poland’s domestic sportsbooks.

From time to time, Polish authorities have signaled that they intend to crack down on those who play on foreign sites, even threatening legal action. However, there has been little indication that the government has taken concrete steps to follow up on this threat. Even if such an outcome materialized, the government implied that only those who market such gambling sites, or perhaps the largest players with consistently huge earnings, would attract any real attention from authorities. The bottom line is that you needn’t worry about repercussions if you gamble online for leisure in Poland. If you follow our guidelines and are selective about where you play, there’s no harm in trying a Poland casino online.

Polish Gambling Scene, History and Culture

Poland is one of the largest and most prominent nations in central Europe. It’s a major member of the European Union, having joined in 2004. After World War II, a communist government ruled the country as a satellite state of the Soviet Union. This situation lasted until 1989, when Poland became one of several Soviet republics to witness revolutionary change. While Poland is a deeply religious country with a Roman Catholic majority denomination, it still finds room for a healthy gaming industry – albeit a somewhat limited one under current laws.

For much of the recent past, gambling was largely unregulated, leaving casinos and smaller venues that offered betting with very little oversight. That began to change in the 1990s, as the government took an interest in gaining some control over the industry. In 1992, new restrictions mandated that any new casinos that were built would have to be introduced into cities with populations of at least 250,000 people. Additional modest reforms were implemented in the years that followed.

However, a major shift occurred in 2010 with the enactment of the Polish Act on Gaming. Under this legislation, which is still in effect today, only licensed casinos are allowed to supply gambling machines. In addition, each region of the country is restricted in its allowance of casino resorts, limiting the number of operators that can be licensed. Finally, the size of the gaming floors is also heavily curtailed: no more than 70 slot machines are allowed in each venue, and the number of tables (either for games like blackjack and roulette, or for a poker room) also kept to a minimum.

Today, about 15 land-based casinos currently operate in Poland, including three in Warsaw. While none of these are extensive resorts like what you would see in Las Vegas, many are attached to quality hotels and offer other amenities like restaurants and nightclubs.

Poland also runs a state lottery system, managed by a firm known as Totalizator Sportowy. They offer keno as well as a number of different daily and weekly games for players, including the very popular Duzy Lotek – also known as the Polish Lotto. In operation since 1957, drawings are held three times a week. when the jackpot isn’t won, it rolls over to the next drawing, making this a bit like Powerball or Mega Millions.

Other betting possibilities in the country include horse racing, which has taken place here since at least 1874. Perhaps the most important race in the nation is the Warsaw Derby, which features turf horses from a number of countries in the region.

In general, sports betting is a popular pastime here, with recent figures showing that football bets make up 70% of all wagers. Gaming laws passed in 2009, 2016 and 2017, however, have made it even harder for online companies to provide this service and thrive in Poland. The state monopoly allows private companies to obtain licensing to offer online sports betting. The biggest online sportsbooks at present are Totolek, STS and Professional.

EU Compliance Could Dictate Policy

Many of the recent changes to the gaming laws in Poland have been based on efforts to comply with broader regulations on trade in the EU. European authorities have expressed concern that the licensing system put in place for internet gambling was too strict. This is something that helped convince lawmakers to reduce the burdens on foreign companies that wanted to operate in the country. A recent modification to the law allowed the Polish state-run lottery to begin selling tickets online too.

Other changes could be coming in the near future. Some lawmakers have pushed for permitting online poker in an attempt to open the market further. Such a development has the potential to bring in significant revenue for the government, with some suggesting well over €100 million could be raised in tax revenue annually.

However, there seems to be little political will to change the current situation, with most politicians happy with the status quo and lobbying unsuccessful. That means that any real movement in the laws is likely to be instigated by pressure from the EU, rather than any groundswell from within the government itself.

The Polish gambling scene might still be a small seed growing against opposing forces but there’s a lot of potential for the future. Keep an eye on this page for the latest updates on online gambling in Poland.