For the first time in over a decade, Poland is seeing a decline in official figures for gaming revenue.
Polish business source Puls Biznesu recently said that 2011 tax receipts from gaming were off PLN100 million from the previous year, coming in at PLN1.48 billion—about $422 million.
The decline reflects the reported 11.3 percent drop in the amount Poles spent on all gaming and wagering in 2011. The total was put at PLN14.3 billion.
State lottery operator Totalizator Sportowy said sales of its products should remain steady this year. But in the slot machine sector, the decline is expected to continue due to the expiration of machine licenses.
In late 2009, legislation was passed that called for the gradual elimination of the non-casino slot market. As machine licenses expire, the government is not allowing their renewal. It is expected that all non-casino slots will disappear by 2016.
The future for casino development is slightly more positive but still restricted. The law stipulates that there can be only one casino per 650,000 inhabitants of a given region. A maximum of 70 slot machines per casino is allowed in addition to table games such as roulette, blackjack and poker.
