Poland's grey market controls 40 pct of online casino sector, report shows
Four out of ten online casinos operating on the Polish market belong to the grey economy, according to data from the global accounting firm EY cited in a new report by the Warsaw Enterprise Institute (WEI) think tank.
According to the report, since 2017, online gambling in Poland, excluding sports betting and promotional lotteries, has been a state monopoly run exclusively by Totalizator Sportowy's Total Casino.
The 'H2 Gambling Capital' analysis by EY cited in the report showed that the legal sector holds a 70-percent share of the overall Polish online gambling market, but drops to 60 percent within the online casino segment specifically. Consequently, every third zloty lost online goes to entities operating outside Polish law.
"In 2025, the turnover of the online gambling grey market reached about PLN 73.7 billion (EUR 17 billion), with entities registered in tax havens accounting for about 40 percent of the online casino market," the WEI report stated. "Over 3 million Poles used illegal gambling operators, placing deposits to the tune of PLN 15 billion (EUR 3.5 billion)."
EY estimated that the average Polish player spends PLN 3,386 (EUR 783) annually in illegal online casinos.
WEI wrote that many consumers remain unaware of the illicit status of these platforms. An EY survey found 51 percent of respondents believed casinos other than Total Casino operate legally in Poland.
"An entity registered in Curacao, Russia, or Malta adapts its website for the Polish player, but simultaneously pays no gambling tax, ignores advertising bans, fails to verify player age properly, does not apply responsible gaming or addiction protection tools, and guarantees neither game fairness nor the payout of funds," the authors of the report wrote.
WEI added that Poland ranks lower in legal online market share compared to European countries that do not enforce a state gambling monopoly.
"Our legal share of the gambling market stands at 69 percent, whereas open markets such as the United Kingdom reach 92 percent, Italy stands at 90 percent, and the Czech Republic sits at 82 percent," the report read. (PAP)
mmr/mf/ kgr/
