Poland urged to scrap punitive sports betting turnover tax

Poland’s plan to maintain its 12% tax on online sports betting turnover won’t fix its broken regulatory regime, warns the Remote Gambling Association (RGA).

This summer, Poland unveiled long-awaited amendments to the Polish Gambling Act, which maintained the country’s reviled 12% tax on sports betting turnover, ignoring recommendations by cabinet ministers to opt for a less punitive 20% tax on betting revenue.

On Tuesday, the RGA issued a statement warning Poland that its turnover tax “has so far failed to build an attractive regime and it is bound to continue to do so, if not changed.” Only five operators have been issued Polish licenses since the country officially launched its regulated online gambling market in 2011.

The RGA believes the turnover tax makes it impossible for online operators to provide “the required level of value and choice to Polish consumers,” leaving said consumers to “seek out better offerings from operators who are licensed outside of Poland.” The RGA also heaped scorn on Polish efforts to block punters’ access to these sites, saying such measures “can be easily circumvented.”