Online gambling operator leaves Poland
Gambling regulation in the country has forced EnergyBet to stop its operations in Poland.
Poland.- Online gambling operator EnergyBet announced that on April 1 all its operations in Poland will come to a stop. The company said on a statement that bets placed before that date will be honoured, but the remaining accounts will be shut down and balances will be returned.
“EnergyBet management have been watching developments regarding regulations in Poland closely for some time, and had hoped that the Polish government would listen to the advice of the EU and other authorities. Sadly, however, this was not the case, and the new highly restrictive and hostile regulatory environment has made continued operations unviable,” read the statement. The company also said that all affiliate partners were commanded to remove advertising that was focused on the Polish market before the first day of April.
Chief executive of the company, Marcin Sapinski, said that the decision to cease offering EnergyBet services to customers in Poland was not taken lightly, and that they regret any resulting inconvenience and disappointment. “The Polish market has always been very important to us, and we share the frustration of Polish customers. We will continue to monitor developments, with the aim of returning to the Polish market if things change. In the meantime, we would like to thank our Polish customers for their understanding,” he added.
Earlier this month it was announced that Poland is set to monopolise part of its gambling market in order to fight against illegal gambling machines. The state defense group PGZ will be responsible for producing the gambling machines, and Totalizator Sportowy, a state-run games of chance firm, will have the monopoly on obtaining proceeds from them. Back in December 2016 the Lower House of the Polish Parliament (Sejm) passed a law that is set to reduce illegal activities in the country, besides increasing the money that the government gets from legal gambling.
