Polish president's veto halts plan to raise gambling winnings tax to 15%

President Karol Nawrocki has vetoed a gambling tax rise in Poland. The amendments, which would also have raised the country’s sugar tax, reportedly sought to address a PLN240 billion ($64.8 billion) fiscal shortfall.

The president blocked amendments to the Public Health Act and the Personal Income Tax Act that had been approved by Parliament earlier this month. The package included a proposal to raise the tax on personal winnings from gambling activities from 10% to 15%, alongside higher sugar-related levies.

Nawrocki vetoed the measures on December 18, arguing they would place an undue financial burden on citizens. He said the initiatives were presented as health-related but were primarily designed to address public finance pressures.

“In my Plan 21, I announced I would not sign any bills that raise taxes for Poles,” said Nawrocki.

Budget deficit cited

Speaking about the sugar tax while addressing the vetoes more generally, Nawrocki linked the proposals to the government’s fiscal position.

“The goal… is obvious: to close the huge budget hole for which the government is responsible. After 11 months, we have a deficit of over PLN240 billion ($64.8 billion). Instead of tightening the tax system, the government is reaching into citizens’ pockets,” he said.

The president added that the future of the Personal Income Tax Act amendment would depend on further action by Parliament.

Zbigniew Bogucki, head of the Chancellery of the President of the Republic of Poland, said the vetoes required additional legislative work.

“The president’s vetoes are constructive; they force the government to work,” Bogucki said.

“If these solutions had stipulated that all the money coming from the surplus of these taxes would go to health care, which is in a terrible state, then the President would probably have made a different decision. But this money was supposed to fill a huge budget hole that this government itself had dug,” he added.

Market implications

Industry observers said maintaining the existing gambling tax rate keeps current conditions for licensed operators.

“Avoiding a tax increase helps ensure that licensed products remain commercially attractive and limits incentives for players to seek alternatives in the grey market,” Marek Plota, an attorney at Wrocław-based RM Legal, told iGB. “From a market perspective, this contributes to regulatory stability and supports channelisation objectives.”

According to the Ministry of Finance, more than 50,000 unlicensed gambling domains are listed on its blacklist for operating in violation of Polish law. Sports betting in Poland is open to private operators, while the country has a single legal online casino operated by state-owned Totalizator Sportowy.