Fot: PixaBay
Poland has seen a decline in gambling revenue for some time, but the tide is turning due to newly regulated products. Recent figures released by the Polish Ministry of Finance show a projected loss in gambling revenue significantly lower than in previous years. Developments in both online betting and land-based gambling look to be reversing the trend.
In the past, Polish residents who wanted to play online had to open accounts and get their casino bonus from offshore sites. This is now changing due to recent legislation. The change in law, in large part, is contributing to the turning tide of gambling revenue in Poland.
The figures
H2 Gambling Capital's Gross Gaming Yield (GGY) projections in June of 2020 showed an expected fall of 9,5% from the previous year's figure. The Polish Ministry of Finance noted that this was significantly lower than the 19.6% combined decline projected across all EU markets.
There was a 0.3% increase in total online gambling revenue. This figure results from a 14.2% fall in sports betting being offset by a 26.2% rise in revenue from online lotteries and online casino revenue.
Land-based gambling revenue fell by 13.1%. It comprises an 8.6% fall in lotteries and number games, a 25.4% fall in betting and a 27.3% fall in land-based casino revenue.
The decline of recent years is a product of global events and Polish government legislation, which is now up to date.
The products mitigating Poland's fall in gambling revenue
The reason behind Poland's comparatively lower decline in gambling revenues is newly regulated verticals such as land-based arcades and online casinos. For the year to June 11th, 2020, the income from online casinos grew by a massive 96.7%. This was aided substantially by the Total Casino site's growth, which is owned by Totalizator Sportowy.
Poland's online casino industry's growth helps offset losses from land-based gambling and sports betting, which have been in decline in recent years. Total Casino was launched relatively recently, in December 2018, and is, so far, the only legal online Casino in Poland.
Due to Poland having its first regionally based online casino, there was a 25% fall in offshore casino sites' revenues. Such stats indicate the popularity of online casino gaming amongst Polish residents.
In July 2018, the Polish government legalised gaming arcades which contributed a 41.4% revenue increase in the year to June 11th, 2020. In March 2020, there were 239 gaming arcades in operation in Poland. All of these were run by Totalizator Sportowy – the brand behind Total Casino – and 36 of these were open in the first quarter of the year, indicating a rapid growth of the sector since new legislation passed.
Poland looks set to benefit from a rise in gambling revenues over the next few years with the recently legalised online casino industry increasing in popularity. This will only be boosted by the legislative changes relating to land-based gaming arcades which are also already popular amongst Polish residents.