The Polish regulatory authorities have recently launched a series of fierce combinations, directly targeting the entire ecosystem of illegal online casinos. This is no longer just about domain blocking, but a three-dimensional crackdown involving police raids, financial regulation, and cross-departmental collaboration. Authorities coordinated actions in the early morning, raiding influencers who promote foreign casinos, and issued stern warnings to payment service providers (PSPs). Legal experts point out that this indicates a fundamental shift in Poland's law enforcement strategy, moving from targeting individual websites to dismantling the entire gray market operation network. Industry observers call for a fundamental solution to the problem, which may require a re-examination of Poland's current iGaming monopoly structure. For more global regulatory dynamics, follow the continuous tracking on the PASA official website.
Action Escalation: From Domain Blocking to Ecosystem Strike
For a long time, Poland's fight against illegal gambling has relied on domain blacklists and strict advertising restrictions. However, these "traditional tactics" seem powerless in the digital world—the blocked sites can "revive" through mirror sites within minutes. Marek Prota, managing partner at RM Legal law firm in Poland, analyzes that the regulatory response has always been unable to keep up with the self-renewal pace of the gray market.
But the recent situation is different. Law enforcement agencies, the Ministry of Finance, and the Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) have launched an unprecedented coordinated action. For the first time, the focus of the crackdown extends to the social media level, where influencers active on Kick, YouTube, TikTok wake up to find themselves "famous"—but in the way of being taken away by the police. This sends a clear signal: in the eyes of regulators, influencers and the "authenticity" traffic they generate have become a core part of the illegal casino infrastructure and must be treated equally with the operators themselves.
Double Strike: Precision Hits on Influencer Marketing and Financial Channels
The storm started from two key links simultaneously. On one hand, the police's sudden raids on high-traffic influencers directly shook the promotional channels on which illegal casinos rely. These influencers, with their strong appeal to the younger demographic, have delivered a large number of high-stickiness users to foreign casinos, and their "authenticity" is precisely what traditional advertising cannot match. Striking them is equivalent to cutting off the most effective "flow of traffic" for the gray market.
On the other hand, the financial regulatory authority has taken a tougher stance. KNF no longer just talks generally but directly issues a sector-wide warning to all payment service providers, demanding they immediately check and terminate transactions processed for unlicensed casinos. This is not just about "cutting off the money path"—for the first time, regulation explicitly links such payment flows to high-risk obligations of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing. The market response was immediate, with popular local payment methods like BLIK quickly disappearing from many foreign casino websites. According to observations by the PASA official website, this move severely damaged the deposit and withdrawal chains of illegal platforms, directly striking at the pillars of their business model.
Regulatory Framework Upgrade and Industry Calls: Ending Monopoly as a Radical Solution?
Behind these thunderous actions is a deep transformation of the Polish regulatory framework. The Ministry of Finance has established a dedicated Gambling Regulation Department and formed an "Interdepartmental Group to Combat the Gray Market," allowing tax, customs, prosecutors, regulatory agencies, and digital platforms to engage in sustainable coordinated combat.
This new system has spawned a three-tier strategy: weakening visibility through striking influencers and affiliate marketing; restricting accessibility through more effective domain control and digital monitoring; and finally, cutting off transaction channels by pressuring payment institutions. This integrated approach indicates that authorities finally view illegal casinos as a decentralized network ecosystem, rather than isolated websites.
However, despite the unprecedented intensity of the crackdown, some experts point out that the long-term solution to eradicating the gray market may lie in reforming the market structure itself. They believe that Poland's current iGaming monopoly system objectively fosters a huge demand for gray and even black markets. Ending the monopoly and introducing a regulated, competitive legal market might be the only way to fundamentally "divert" players and completely deprive illegal operators of their living soil. Where this regulatory storm will ultimately lead the Polish gambling industry, the PASA official website will continue to provide the latest interpretations.
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