POLISH SPORTS BETTING BILL PASSED

Written On  4/8/11 By Anthony Aperman :

Operators to register .pl domains and conduct transactions through Polish banks
 
Poland legalised online sports betting, this week, with the passing of an inequitable bill by representatives from the countries Finance and Physical Culture Committee's.
 
The new measure was introduced to revise the existing gambling law and confirms Poland's anti-online gambling stance with the banning of all internet gambling except sports betting .
 
Several controversial conditions accompany the bill and include:
 
–  A 12 percent tax on turnover (equal to existing land-based casino taxes)
–  Servers must remain in Poland and websites will have to register domains as ".pl"
–  All online transactions must be conducted through Polish banks
 
The tax rate in particular has been criticised as being too high and severe restrictions on marketing and advertising will continue to be imposed, making for a tough operating environment.
 
Poland's Deputy Finance Minister, Jacek Kapica said that the bill marked the first step towards the revolution of a gaming culture.
 
The Polish Press Agency reports that the law could come into effect as soon as June 2011.