Poland’s government saw its gambling tax revenue take a serious hit from COVID-19, with the state-run online casino monopoly proving the exception to the downward trend.

Figures released by Poland’s Ministry of Finance shows the total tax take from Polish-licensed gambling operators hit just over PLN450m (US$121.6m) in the three months ending June 30. That sum represents a nearly 21% decline from the same period last year and more than one-quarter below Q1 2020’s total.

The state-run numeric lotteries claimed the biggest slice of the tax pie with PLN176m, down 16.7% from Q1 2020. Sports betting claimed the second-biggest slice with PLN138.6m, down nearly one-third from Q1 as the pandemic forced the suspension of major sports events. Online betting tax fell 28% to PLN124m while retail betting slumped 55% to PLN14.6m.

Land-based casino operations were also hit hard, with tax down 52% to PLN44.6m, while slots parlor taxes were cut in half to PLN3.7m. Standing in stark contrast was state-run Totalizator Sportowy’s Playtech-powered online casino monopoly, which brought in tax of PLN39.3m, up more than 28% sequentially and more than twice the sum generated in Q2 2019.