William Hill Withdraws From Poland

Bookmaking giant William Hill has announced that it intends to withdraw its online betting services from Poland.

It is the latest of the leading online bookies to make such an announcement, which comes after the Polish government implemented a 12% turnover tax on all operators. It has been claimed that the government is deliberately making conditions untenable for international operators, in order to leave the market open for Totalizator Sportowy, which is owned by the state.

The lack of competition is certain to be good for government profits, but bad for players. The less choice Polish players have, the poorer service they can expect, and voting with their feet will no longer be an option.

Poland is not the only country to introduce unfriendly legislation in recent times, and it is unfortunate that citizens in these affected territories are not being given access to the same choice of services. The EU is unable or unwilling to introduce blanket legislation to cover the whole Eurozone, so we are left with what is very much a two tier system.

All the more reason to move to the UK, Malta or Scandinavia to get access to the best range of online betting services!