Poland Announces Partnership with Playtech for State Online Casino Platform

The Government of Poland announced their partnership with industry leading software provider Playtech for the state online casino platform. Playtech will be responsible for developing and providing the technology for the country’s online gambling monopoly.

Mor Weizer, CEO of Playtech, has stated that he was thrilled by the news that make it possible for the provider to strengthen its presence in regulated markets. Moreover, he highlighted this partnership as an opportunity to weaken Playtech’s reliance on grey markets, which often create discomfort and worries for the company’s investors.

The number of rivals for this partnership is unknown, but Playtech did manage to win other bidders via a competitive tender organised in Novermber, 2017. Now, the company will have to start working on the eKasyno platform, owned by the Totalizator Sportowy, the Polish gaming and lottery monopoly. Playtech will be an exclusive technology partner for the project.

Playtech to Integrate Casino Platform and Supply Rich Game Portfolio

According to the announcement published on the provider’s website on 1^st of March, Playtech will have to integrate its award-winning casino platform. Additionally, the company’s top-notch game portfolio will be added to the gambling offer, whereas Playtech will also have to support Totalizator Sportowy in terms of marketing and consultancy.

In the statement of Mor Weizer, Playtech’s CEO, is was highlighted how Totalizator Sportowy has been supplying both lottery and gambling products for over 60 years. Additionally, the CEO pointed out that this operator is the largest one in Poland. Weizer did not fail to praise the “scale and flexibility” of Playtech’s gaming platform and pointed out that their product is perfect for leading “online growth of newly regulated online markets.”

Olgierd Cieslik, President of Totalizator Sportowy, also commented on the deal and called it “a breakthrough moment” for both the company as well as the Polish entertainment market. Cieslik highlighted his confidence in Playtech and said that the experienced provider would “perfectly handle” the task. Additionally, Totalizator Sportowy said that the deal with Playtech would help towards reducing the grey area of gambling.

eKasyno Expected to Go Online by the End of 2018

According to the deputy finance minister of Poland, eKasyno is expected to go online by the end of 2018. This launch, however, comes months after the authorities’ initial plan, which was delayed alongside the tender for the project. Namely, the tender was first planned for last August, but this failed to happen due to unspecified reasons.

It should be noted that Poland updated its gambling regulations by the end of 2016 and approved online gambling products including casino, poker and bingo. Nevertheless, these were all given to Totalizator Sportowy, whereas online sports betting remained open to private operators prepared to pay a huge 12% tax on betting turnover.

In the meantime, the country started blacklisting online gambling sites, with the total number reaching 1,550. Many operators, such as Bet365 and William Hill decided to leave the Polish online gambling market after the amended Gambling Act was passed in December 2016.