Illegal casinos in Poland: the end of easy payments

Under the combined pressure of the media and financial regulators, payment methods are disappearing en masse from illegal online casinos operating in Poland.

An unprecedented wave of restrictions is currently shaking up the online gambling market in Poland. Under pressure from the Polish financial regulator (UKNF), several popular payment methods have been removed from gambling sites operating illegally. This measure, initiated following a financial forum in Sopot, is a serious blow to offshore operators, who until now had relied on the apparent normality of traditional payment services to facilitate their transactions.

Strategic turning point initiated in Sopot

The turning point came during the Sopot Financial Forum, a round table bringing together major players in the sector who pointed the finger at illegal transactions between Polish players and illegal online casinos. Speakers included Beata Stelmach (Totalizator Sportowy), Maciej Akimow (iGaming Dragon), Tadeusz Białek (Polish Banking Association), Adam Lamentowicz (Superbet Group), Marcin Mikołajczyk (KNF) and Jerzy Mroczek (BLIK)

A consensus emerged around the need to create a working group tasked with actively cooperating to block financial flows to illegal operators. The message was clear: many Polish payment intermediaries are aware of their role in these fund transfers… but choose to do nothing.

A confidential letter, concrete consequences

A few weeks later, the president of the UKNF sent a letter to payment service providers, demanding an immediate review of their activities related to unauthorised casinos. The exact content of this letter remains confidential, but according to lawyer Maciej Raczyński, the tone is unequivocal: any activity facilitating payments to illegal operators must cease immediately.

The recipients had seven days to carry out an internal review, respond to the UKNF and put in place technical and organisational barriers to prevent any recurrence.

Payment methods evaporating

Shortly after the letters were sent, the impact was felt: the most popular payment options began to disappear from illegal online casinos frequented by Polish players. Although some sites still offer active methods, their number is now marginal.

Blocking most payment methods to illegal sites is a decisive step in the fight against illegal gambling, as iGaming Polska states:

‘Simply highlighting illegal practices and sending a well-targeted letter was enough to bring about a major change.’ 

The effectiveness of the banned domain registry had already been demonstrated, but controlling payments is now the key to success.

An illegal financial architecture destabilised

The results are clear. By targeting the financial channel, the real gateway for all gambling activity, the authorities have been able to directly attack the business model of illegal operators. The removal of reliable payment methods destroys the illusion of legality and security that these platforms maintained with users.

A study by iGaming Polska of 100 of the offshore casinos most used by Poles revealed that the key to their success lay precisely in the ease of payment. The use of reputable and familiar systems lowered the barrier to entry, attracting thousands of players to platforms that were nevertheless illegal.

The grey market reacts… and adapts

But while this initiative is a breakthrough, it does not solve the problem. The grey market is responsive and agile. Operators are looking for other workarounds: cryptocurrencies, foreign e-wallets, decentralised services, etc.

Aware of this reality, analysts at iGaming Polska have announced their intention to actively monitor developments in payment systems in order to identify new emerging methods and assess the sustainability of current restrictions.

Should Belgium take inspiration from Poland?

Poland has understood one crucial thing: no payment, no gambling. The Polish case shows that targeted action on payment methods can have an immediate and tangible impact on illegal online casinos. 

In Belgium, the Gaming Commission is fighting illegal casinos using a blacklist of URLs that are blocked directly at the source. Unfortunately, this is not enough, as illegal operators easily circumvent the blocks by simply changing their URLs. Controlling financial flows is a much more effective weapon.

That said, it is not a question of replacing IP blocking, but of supplementing it with a well-defined legal framework and close cooperation between regulators and private actors.