Polish Bookmakers Association Calls for Government Help

The Employers and Employees of the Bookmakers Companies Association in Poland have called for government help to avoid significant job losses as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The association said it has seen the number of bets placed drop by around 60% due to the cancellation of sports across the globe. This decline is particularly after the retail bookmakers in Poland closed from 14 March.

As a result, bookmakers have seen customer spending disappear, meaning they are losing money, with no way to mitigate the shut-down.

The association said this would result in efforts to reduce fixed costs, including mass redundancies, with many operators now facing bankruptcy. The situation could result in most of the 5000 staff employed in betting shops, not to mention head office staff, risk losing their jobs, it warned.

The regulated Polish gambling industry has an annual turnover estimated at PLN7bn, of which at least PLN820m goes to the state through gambling and lottery taxes.

To avoid job losses and protect the state’s tax revenue, the association urged the Polish government to reduce gambling tax rates from 12% to 10% of turnover at least until August this year. The association also asked the government to delay the deadline for paying these taxes to September.