ProgressPlay Pulling Polish Casinos After Law Changes

Legislation for online gambling is in a state of constant flux in many parts of the world. That is definitely the case in Poland, and it's showing in a major way right now. ProgressPlay, an online casino platform, will be pulling all of their casinos from the country after a number of regulations were changed in the country. While many are calling these changes improvements, there are always going to be people who like and dislike the changes.

Details on the Amendment

Back in December 2016, an amendment to the Polish Gambling Act was adopted, and it was set to come into action early this summer. It added a number of changes, which included stricter controls on unlicensed sites operating in the country. Previously, operators were able to more or less run however they wanted in Poland, but now it's looking like they'll need a Polish online gambling license to do so. In fact, the state monopoly on the industry seems to be taking over completely as a result of these changes.

Payment Blocking and More

A key piece of information in all of this is that the amendment authorizes the government to force banks and processing companies to block payments to and from unlicensed online casinos in the country. As a result of this change and others, ProgressPlay will be pulling all of their casinos from the country, and the first to do so will be Ace Lucky Casino with its Polish exit. While there are sure to be plenty of disappointed players, it's already been approved months ago, so there's not much that can be done at this point.

For Better or Worse

Some people think that the changes to Poland's regulations are a good thing, and others think the changes are largely misguided. For better or worse, this is the direction in which they are heading, and players and operators in the area will mostly just have to deal with it the best they can. The state monopoly on online gambling is the most troubling part for many since situations like that often make it difficult for outside companies to get a license to operate and compete, but it's too early to tell exactly how that part of the equation is going to work out in Poland.

Sources

Giulio Coraggio, Polish Gambling Regulations Substantially Improved gamingtechlaw.com, June 8, 2017