Poland pushes for an EU initiative to tackle unregulated gambling

[Wolf32]

Poland has urged the EU to create a working group to tackle unregulated gambling, aiming to reclaim lost tax revenue.

Poland currently holds the EU’s six-month rotating presidency since January 1, and has called on the EU to prioritize tackling unlicensed gambling to address lost tax revenue and enhance regulatory effectiveness.


In December, Poland urged the European Commission to form a working group of experts to facilitate collaboration among Member States. This group would act as a platform for sharing experiences, best practices and innovative ideas, such as leveraging AI-powered technologies to counter unregulated gambling platforms.

Poland also emphasized that this initiative could build upon existing Memoranda of Understanding between national gambling regulators, which focus on information sharing and cooperation. Such measures are seen as crucial in strengthening Europe’s collective approach to unlicensed gambling operations.

This proposal aligns with ongoing efforts across the 449.2-million-person EU bloc to combat offshore gambling. While local licensing regimes introduced in the 2010s and 2020s have empowered national regulators to pursue offshore operators, success through fines and ISP blocks has been limited. Recent strategies targeting suppliers demonstrate governments’ evolving and innovative tactics to combat illegal gambling activities.

Poland’s call also coincides with the recent legal cases holding white operators liable for historic grey market activity. This has encouraged a shift among operators seeking licenses in jurisdictions outside of the traditional offshore hubs like Curaçao and Gibraltar.

Phil Pearson, the CEO of White Label Casinos, mentioned:

Operators invested in strong compliance teams and high responsible gaming in the middle of the EU — Malta — but political motives from other EU regulators blinded them and, in killing the Maltese regulated industry, have created an uncontrollable web of offshore operations, much to the detriment of players.