Every industry has been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and the Polish gambling industry has been no exception to this. Century Casinos, which has a number of land-based facilities across Poland, has been ordered to temporarily close as Poland, along with many other countries on the continent, battle an upsurge in Covid-19 cases. In the following article, we are going to take a closer look at this shutdown before taking a look at the Polish online casino scene and their gambling regulations.

The Shutdown Period at Century Casinos

The Colorado Springs based gaming operator announced that its Polish casinos, of which there are 8, will be shut to the public from March the 19th until April the 9th. However, if the number of cases has not started to decrease by then, there is a very good chance that the shutdown will be extended further. This is not the first shutdown that they have been forced to have as all casinos in Poland were ordered to close on the 28th of December 2020, and they were not allowed to open again for close to two months.

This news will be pretty frustrating for casino players across Poland as the Polish love to gamble, but at the end of the day the Polish government needs to put the health of its people above the wealth of its people.

When it does open up again, it is likely that strict regulations will be in place to try and contain the spread of Covid-19. At the time of writing, facemasks are compulsory across Poland when out in public, except for when you are able to keep a 1.5 metre distance from others. Therefore, face masks are not mandatory when out in the countryside or in National Parks and forests. As a result, when Century Casinos finally get given permission from the Polish government to open up again, it is likely that anyone who enters will have to wear a mask at all times.

It is also likely that they will only be allowed to let in a certain number of people at once and that they will have reduced opening hours so that they have time to sanitize the tables and slot games to decrease the chances of patrons catching the virus.

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The Polish Online Casino Scene

As we said above, the Polish love to gamble and the closure of land-based casinos across the country will be frustrating to many casino players. However, all is not lost as the Polish have access to a great and ever-growing online casino scene. Although the online gambling market is small if you compare it to the online gambling scenes in the United States or the United Kingdom, there is one thing that is for certain and this is that the Polish online gambling scene is growing at a steady pace.

This growth started back in 2017 when the Polish government decided to amend the Gambling Act to make regulations less strict. They are still some of the strictest around (more on this below), but they are not as strict as they used to be, and this has had a big impact on the country’s gambling revenue. To give you an idea as to just how much the Polish online gambling scene has grown, in 2015 a mere €0.11bn was generated from it. However, in 2018, according to the casino experts from kasynopolskaonline.com, the industry was worth €1.82 billion. Now, in 2021, it is estimated to be worth somewhere in the region of €5 billion.

Now, we know that there is some way for it to go before it can put itself at the same level of the UK gambling market, but it is clear for everyone to see that Poland’s online gambling market is definitely on the right trajectory. If it keeps growing at the rate that it is, we see no reason why they cannot hit the €10 billion mark within the next 5-10 years.

Polish Gambling Regulations

Based on the numbers that we just gave above, it is clear that Polish online market is doing really well. However, like we said, Polish operators and players still need to adhere to strict gambling rules.

At the time of writing, Polish online casino players are only able to participate in types of gambling that are regulated and licensed by Act on Gambling Games, which was amended in November 2019. This includes slot games, table games, bingo, sports betting, and lottery.

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So, where does this leave the online gambling scene in Poland? Well, truthfully, it is a complicated situation. In fact, Totalizator Sportowy is the only state-owned operator that is permitted to offer casino games and sports betting in Poland. Now, this is not recent news as this is an issue that has been impacting the Polish gambling market in the European Union for years. Polish casino players had hoped that some new laws would be put in place in 2017 to allow other operators to provide their services in the country, but that did not materialize.

However, when all things are considered, the situation is not too bad for Polish players. For example, there are no rules that declare that Polish gamblers cannot open an account with an offshore gambling site. There are now plenty of offshore online casinos that are happy to accept players from Poland. However, they have to be in possession of a valid gambling license from a legitimate gambling regulator, such as the Malta Gaming Authority or the UK Gambling Commission, and Polish players have to be 21 or older in order to sign up.