Playing Safely and Responsibly Strengthens a Country’s Potential

Poland is part of select group of European countries with a strong and extensive state monopoly on games of chance. What are the advantages of this monopoly from your company’s perspective, and its advantages over approaches applied in other countries?

In Poland, the state first established a monopoly on most forms of gambling games, and then entrusted its implementation to Totalizator Sportowy, a company wholly owned by the State Treasury. This arrangement allows for more effective oversight over this sensitive sector, both economically and socially. The funds generated by Totalizator Sportowy remain in the country, contributing to the state budget and supporting important social goals, while at the same time, player protection is strengthened, e.g. through mandatory and voluntary marketing restrictions.

What is the state’s priority here: generating revenue from gaming or pursuing social goals?

The primary focus is on protecting players and minimising the risk associated with excessive promotion of gambling, particularly in high-risk areas such as slot machines and online casino games. The aim is to minimise the negative social and individual consequences of gambling. At the same time, we are assured that the funds generated in this sector will primarily benefit society. Totalizator Sportowy’s obligations towards the state budget result mainly from the gaming tax (for online casinos and gaming machine parlours, the rate is 50 percent) and contributions to sports, culture, health care and the development of civil society. Also significant is the several hundred-million-zloty dividend that Totalizator Sportowy pays annually to its sole owner, the State Treasury.

Is it really possible to reconcile the attractiveness of the offering with gaming safety?

As a state-owned company, we feel a special responsibility to promote safe gambling practices, which is why we offer our products exclusively to adults and ensure that all aspects of our operations positively impact the broader environment. Anyone participating in games organised by Totalizator Sportowy can be confident that the products offered are safe – from the game design stage to media communication. As part of our ESG goals and sustainability reporting, we are developing Responsible Gaming, a key area for the organisation. Since 2013, we have held the international Responsible Gaming Certificate – the industry’s highest accolade. In 2020, we expanded it to new business lines, such as Total Casino, lotto.pl and slot machine parlours (SGA). Each time, the certification is preceded by an independent audit. Our company places great importance on sharing experiences and actively participates in international conferences organised by the European Lottery Association and World Lottery Association.

The register kept by the Ministry of Finance (https://hazard.mf.gov.pl/) already lists nearly 48,000 domains offering gambling games which are illegal under Polish law. From Totalizator Sportowy’s perspective, how realistic and effective is the state monopoly in this area in the era of ubiquitous internet access?

Unregulated operators pose multiple risks. The primary concern is the accessibility of games to minors, or lack of guarantees of mechanisms to prevent gaming, e.g. when time or financial limits have been exceeded. Moreover, there is no certainty that any possible winnings will go to the player. Importantly, many people who play are often unaware that they are engaging with the so-called “shadow economy”, thereby exposing themselves to conflict with Polish law. That said, the widespread availability of internet access does not necessarily equate to an expansion of the shadow economy in the gaming sector. Solutions exist that can effectively limit the ability of illegal gambling operators to attract and serve players.

What kind of solutions?

This is primarily about effective payment blocking, including restrictions on entities acting as intermediaries between legitimate payment providers and the shadow economy. Norway’s solutions are an example of this approach. It is important to prevent a flood of illegal gambling advertisements on the internet, especially on sites and platforms owned by tech giants. Tightening access-blocking systems for illegal casinos also helps to curb the expansion of illegal operators since merely blocking the domains alone does not have the intended effect. In addition to technological measures, financial penalties play a vital role. The fact that such illegal activities cannot be eradicated entirely does not necessarily mean abandoning the fight to limit their scale. The goal in this case is to make violating the state monopoly increasingly difficult, costly and risky.

Some reports claim that the state budget loses up to one billion zloty every year due to uncollected gambling taxes. What is behind the ongoing pressure to relax or abolish the monopoly?

Private operators, often with rather obscure capital ties, dream of taking over as much of the funds that fuel the Polish state budget and support socially significant initiatives as possible. Decades of economic growth have increased the wealth of Poles, and today we are able to allocate more money to entertainment. This makes Poland an increasingly attractive market, which generates growing pressure. Meanwhile, countries that liberalised their markets earlier are now seeking ways to curb the scale of interest in gambling; these countries are facing a growing problem of addiction, including among young people under the age of 18, and slightly older individuals who, while legal adults, are still developing their personalities and are therefore more vulnerable when confronted with aggressive gambling promotion.

In Totalizator Sportowy’s opinion, what are the potential consequences of demonopolisation in Poland?

They would likely mirror those seen elsewhere: a significant increase in the number of people gambling – and therefore the loss of money to foreign operators – particularly among young people, and an increase in the number of addicted players and those engaging in risky gambling behaviours. This, in turn, would generate social and financial costs, both for the players and their families, as well as for the state, which would then bear the burden of addiction treatment and social support. It should also be remembered that countries without a state monopoly have lower tax rates on games, which means that such a move would also be highly risky from a fiscal perspective.

Until 1992, the European Commission attempted to assert its legitimacy to unify the gambling market within the EU, but abandoned the effort as most Member States did not see the need for such unification. Should Poland take any initiatives in this sector during its EU presidency?

Member States have highly diverse legal frameworks, histories, traditions and social habits concerning gambling, as well as different strategies for developing and regulating this market. For this reason, the most beneficial approach for all would be to maintain the current situation, where each country independently shapes and manages its own market. The EU, on the other hand, faces a broader challenge, i.e. defending fair competition and protecting consumer rights in the age of the digital economy. This issue extends beyond gambling games, and affects many other areas of trade and services. Businesses originating from other continents are trying to use various ways to circumvent or violate European rules, and we must continually seek effective responses to these actions.

How many people in Poland use Totalizator Sportowy’s services?

According to surveys conducted among adults, these services are used by 61 percent of adult Poles.

Which segment of your business is most popular of all?

What sets our products apart are the jackpots. They drive sales across both channels – online and offline. One example was November 2024, when the Eurojackpot prize pool exceeded an astronomical half a billion zlotys for several draws. The second-tier jackpot was also growing, meaning that a player could become a multimillionaire even without hitting the main jackpot. We have a group of so-called “jackpot players” who only enter the game when large sums are at stake. This is mainly true for Lotto and Eurojackpot. In the case of Scratch Cards (Zdrapka) or online Gierki games, new releases play a significant role. When it comes to online casino games, slot machines are the clear leader, but traditional table games hosted live by dealers also attract many customers. A particularly popular category includes instant games branded Ekspres Losy, introduced by Totalizator Sportowy as the first national lottery in Europe. These are games with immediate results printed on a ticket directly from lottery terminals.

In which segment do we see the highest number of regular users?

For the past few years, quick games with instant results, offering “here-and-now” entertainment, have dominated. These are Scratch Cards, their online equivalent called Gierki, and the online casino. They provide real-time excitement and, thanks to their design, deliver frequent wins, further boosting their popularity. Since 2018, Scratch Cards have been the sales leader, with more than PLN 10 billion paid out in winnings since 1999. It is important to remember that Scratch Cards are only available in the offline sales network, just like Ekspres Losy.

What were the biggest wins in each segment in 2024?

On a supposedly “unlucky” Friday, 13 December 2024, everyone was electrified by the Eurojackpot win of PLN 91,256,729.60. This was the eighth first-tier win in this game in Poland. In Lotto and Lotto Plus, there were 57 wins of PLN 1 million or more. The highest win in Scratch Cards was PLN 2 million, while Gierki recorded two wins of PLN 1 million each in 2024. On the last day of last year, a Lotto “six” worth nearly PLN 20 million was drawn in Lower Silesia, in the south of Poland.

Where does the money from the games go?

For nearly 70 years, Totalizator Sportowy has been supporting sports and culture in Poland, becoming their biggest national patron. In 1994, a law introduced surcharges, i.e. fees added to stakes in our number games and cash lotteries. In 2003, a surcharge for culture was added. Since 2009, when the Gambling Act was passed, the fee has been set at 25% of the game stake. For example, if a Lotto bet costs PLN 3, the game stake is PLN 2.40 and the surcharge is PLN 0.60. This surcharge of PLN 0.60 goes to public causes. During the 30 years of these surcharges (1994–2024), the total amount exceeded PLN 22.6 billion, of which Totalizator Sportowy allocated over PLN 22 billion to support sports and culture. In 2024 alone, a record sum of over PLN 1.5 billion was allocated to both these areas of social life. At the same time, our company conducts wide-ranging sponsorship activities financed from our own resources. The Halina Konopacka LOTTO Foundation and the Totalizator Sportowy Foundation strive to engage Polish women and men in many areas, fostering a society which is open to challenges, energetic, health-conscious and motivated for further development.

Why sports and culture?

Because supporting them is a Totalizator Sportowy tradition. Poland was heavily destroyed during World War II, and sports and cultural facilities were left in ruins. In the mid-1950s, Polish Olympic athletes came up with the idea to organise nationwide sports betting to fund the reconstruction of sports infrastructure. On 17 December 1955, Totalizator Sportowy was established, and the first sports bets were launched in 1956, with the first funds going to sports. In the 1970s, Totalizator Sportowy became heavily involved in financing the reconstruction of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, enabling every player to contribute to the reconstruction of this symbol of Poland’s sovereignty. According to the 2009 Gambling Act, the money from the surcharge goes into the account of the Physical Culture Development Fund, the Culture Promotion Fund and the Gambling Problems Resolution Fund. Following amendments to the Act, the Civil Society Development Fund was added in 2017.

How does your support impact Polish sports?

From 1994 to the end of 2024, Totalizator Sportowy has allocated over PLN 18 billion in surcharges to the Physical Culture Development Fund. We also support sports from our own resources, and our partners include the Ekstraklasa top football league, the Polish Table Tennis Super League and the Polish Tennis Association. Moreover, we have supported the Polish Canoe Association, the Tour de Pologne cycling race and the Tour de Pologne Women. Clubs partnering with Totalizator Sportowy’s LOTTO brand include the LOTTO Chemik Police (women’s volleyball club), Legia Warszawa and Arka Gdynia (men’s basketball clubs) and LOTTO Bydgostia, the long-supported rowing club (36-time Polish Team Champion). Since 2008, we have been a patron of the Służewiec Horse Racing Track. We also work individually with athletes such as Robert Lewandowski (FC Barcelona striker and captain of the Polish national football team), Andrzej Bargiel (alpine skier, the first man on Earth to descend K2 on skis), Jakub Matulka (LOTTO Matulka Rally Team) and Łukasz Różański (2023 world champion boxer in the WBC federation). We have also supported, among others, Aleksandra Mirosław, the world record holder in speed climbing and the only Polish gold medallist at the Olympic Games in Paris.

What about the area of culture?

From 2003 to the end of 2024, over PLN 3.9 billion in surcharges was allocated to the Culture Promotion Fund. Our own resources support, among others, events such as commemorating the anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, as well as events organised by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute. Our other beneficiaries include the Warsaw Rising Museum, the Museum of Sport and Tourism and the National Forum of Music in Wrocław. We have supported, among others, the Royal Castle in Warsaw and the National Museums in Warsaw and Krakow, Chopin Concerts in Warsaw’s Royal Łazienki Park, and the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival. As you can see, the activities of Totalizator Sportowy finance vital social causes. They are highly instrumental in shaping the physical fitness and health of Poles, the fight against addiction and, at the same time, the promotion of broadly understood culture and art, commemoration of the past, historical education and development of civil society. Everyone who uses Totalizator Sportowy’s offering contributes to the achievement of these goals. It can be said that, by playing our games, they strengthen the country’s potential while enjoying highly safe entertainment.

Totalizator Sportowy, the owner of the LOTTO brand, operates the Polish state monopoly in the field of number games, cash lotteries, slot machine games outside gaming casinos, as well as online gambling games, with the exception of mutual betting and promotional lotteries arranged under a licence.

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