Polish P.M. Wants to Prohibit Online Gambling

The Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk is dead set on making online gambling a thing of the past in the nation. Poland which has been a member of the European Union since 2004 has been embroiled in political scandal for several weeks now. Legislation that will prohibit outright any form of gambling other than that in land based casinos will be presented as a first draft in about fourteen days. The reformed laws will also place a bigger tax burden on existing forms of gambling that are currently legal in Poland.

Polish customers of web gambling sites don’t feel too threatened by the latest news that their ability to play online will be banned if the legislation passes. The Polish punters have seen restrictions come and go before in other E.U. countries. This proposed removal of all forms of internet gambling comes after the Prime Minister has lost much of his government over a gambling scandal.

Four high officials in the Polish government have been forced to submit to public scrutiny and resign their positions after being accused of letting the gambling industry sway the decisions of their related departments. The former Minister for Sport, Miroslaw Drzewiecki, was a suspect in an investigation into alleged political corruption. The investigation dubbed ‘Operation Blackjack’ also brought down the Minister of Justice and the Deputy Prime Minister.

There have been just a few rumours floating that Poland needs more money from the proposed surtax on the existing land based casinos, to shore up it’s finances as it comes time to co host, with the Ukraine, the 2012 European Football Championship. Efforts have been accelerated to get things finished on time. Online gambling regulations with appropriate taxation would achieve the same thing but the Prime Minister is trying very hard with his tough stance to regain some credibility for his government.