The European Commission has halted Poland's attempts to push through new online gambling laws, in a move that will delight the country's consumers.

Restrictive amendments to Poland's Gambling Activities Act were quickly passed in November after a corruption scandal involving government officials and casino stakeholders.

Under the new proposals, any foreign operator wishing to offer their services in Poland would have needed a local license, which only would have been granted if the applicant established significant infrastructure in the country and ran its transactions through Polish banks.

These proposals would clearly have acted as a deterrent to potential licensees and would have robbed the Polish people of a fluid and open online gambling market.

Opposition to the new laws came forth immediately from the likes of the EGBA and ourselves and we're delighted that the European Commission have recognized the flaws and injustices of the new Polish proposals and have decided to halt them in their tracks.

The Polish government now have until August 16th to decide how to respond, with our hope being that they replace the rejected legislation with proposals that will offer their citizens genuine competition, transparency and value.

In light of recent developments in Portugal the Netherlands and Sweden, the decision of the Commission to block the Polish proposals is an all too rare win for European consumers who continue to be short-changed across the continent.

It is the Commission's job to ensure that fundamental principles of the European Union are being adopted throughout all Member States, and while their inaction when it comes to online gambling has been the cause of much consternation in recent times, on this occasion at least they seem to have got their house in order.