We reported last month that the Polish government had passed new legislation severely restricting the country's gambling industry in response to a scandal involving cabinet ministers.

The Gambling bill which was approved by Prime Minister Donald Tusk includes the banning of advertising, the blocking of EU sites offering casino and poker, as well as strict licensing laws for sports betting operators who would be required to have bank accounts and servers within the country's borders.

The EU Commission is unhappy that the legislation was passed without notifying the Commission of what are dramatic changes, and furthermore there is a fear that much of the new bill will contravene fundamental EU principles of freedom of trade and services.

Poland have unsurprisingly pointed to the recent Bwin v Santa Casa case in Portugal, where the ECJ ruled that governments can ban foreign operators on the grounds of public protection and crime prevention, however as is often the case, the government is hiding behind very little proof that their actions will enhance player security or go further to prevent crime.

The case in Poland is an appalling one indeed. To re-cap, Government officials were found guilty of corruption when it was discovered that they were opposing tax hikes on gambling companies with whom they had commercial ties with. 

Rather than focus on the shameful antics of the ministers involved, the knee-jerk reaction was to punish innocent consumers by passing the new gambling bill, which in turn robs citizens of the chance to bet safely and freely with the  EU licensed operator of their choosing. We don't quite see how doing so would rid the cabinet of corruption and therefore deem the act as scandalous in the extreme.

 It's a truly sorry state of affairs. We at right2bet are utterly sick of elected politicians and officials using any flawed excuse to protect the revenues that their state-run betting operators are bringing them.

We're glad that the EU Commission has asked Poland for an explanation but we hope that they go far further and demand that the legislation be thrown out.  Licensed, private EU operators offer consumers the best odds, the best choice and the best player protection.

Yet millions of EU consumers are being forced to bet with the state offering and are losing out as a result.  Take a look at our Charity Betting Challenge to see this for yourself.

In light of news such as this it is now more important than ever that we fight for our right2bet, so sign our petition and email you MEP.  Let us urge the Commission to not let the likes of Poland get away with making consumers pay for government crimes.