Digital Danger: How Does Poland Protect Children From Online Casino Games?

The online casino industry has become very prominent in Poland. Convenient options to access casino games and sports betting have changed the outlook of gambling for players across the nation. However, this convenience has also led to exposing gambling platforms to underage residents.

Just as easily as you can access a casino app from your smartphone, so can younger users. Does this pose a threat to attracting underage players? And what are online casinos doing to prevent this?

We connected with the researchers at CasinoRIX to get more insight into how the industry is protecting minors from exposure to gambling. Let’s find out what they had to say below.

Legal Age and Access: What the Law Says

Poland does have strict laws in place for gambling to prevent minors from participating. All online casinos, sports betting, land-based casinos, and lotteries are prohibited for people under the age of 18. Operators must comply with these rules stated in the 2009 Gambling Act.

For online casinos to operate in Poland, they must hold an active license. This ensures that the operator is regularly monitored for compliance and follows all regulations.

Part of these regulations ensures that all Polish residents who register for a casino account must be verified. They will be required to submit a picture of their ID and documents that support their identity, age, and residential address.

However, there are some weak spots where minors are squeezing through. They are doing so by supplying fake IDs and manipulated documents. This is why there has been a call to strengthen biometric verification.

Parental Control vs. Platform Rules

As we spoke with the team at CasinoRIX PL, they informed us on how there are consequences to minors using these platforms. In the case that a minor falsifies their information to create an account, they could be subject to harsh penalties under the Fiscal Penal Code.

Licensed casinos are doing their part to keep their platforms safe. In order to fully prevent minors from accessing these services, parents will need to step up. The minors’ parents or guardians can take measures to prevent their kids from gambling online.

While constant supervision of what your child is doing online might seem out of reach, there are other options you can take. This includes using built-in controls on the internet browser and downloading software to filter out content that people under 18 shouldn’t be accessing.

The CasinoRIX team also encourages parents to communicate with their children about the risks of gambling. Take the steps to educate them and have open discussions about the topic and how to stay safe online.

National Efforts to Keep Children Safe

Strict regulations have been imposed to ensure all gambling operations in Poland enforce a robust age verification system. Any online casino or gambling operation that doesn’t comply with these regulations will face severe penalties and could lose its license.

While taking steps to prevent illegal gambling is important, this is only the beginning of how the government and casinos can work together to keep children protected. But it’s also crucial to raise awareness.

Public education and campaigns targeted at parents are initiated to keep people informed. As they raise awareness on the dangers of underage gambling, they highlight key aspects like the risks of addiction and financial harm. They also focus on ways that parents can address these issues with their children and create an open discussion.

Real Problems: Where the System Fails

Despite the robust systems in place, minors are still able to expose the flaws and access online casinos. Some legal online casinos still feature outdated systems when it comes to verification checks. It can be easier for people to play through those sites because their falsified documents will go unnoticed.

Another issue that the government is endlessly trying to defeat is unlicensed operators. While they are prohibited from the Polish market, many of them are using VPNs to promote their services. Since these sites aren’t following regulations, they are more likely to accept a minor’s money without stringent verification processes.

One more challenge that’s constantly being weighed is advertising and promotion. While there are strict rules for advertising so online casinos don’t target minors, it’s not impossible to prevent them from seeing it. Especially when it’s so easy for them to access the content through social media.

Looking Ahead: Ideas for Better Protection

The online casino industry is rapidly growing. As technology advances, the industry is able to offer more appealing games and stronger security measures. However, steps are still needed to be taken to protect minors from using the services.

As we look towards the future of online casinos in Poland, biometric authentication will be the prime focus. Along with standard age verification, there has been talks about doing facial recognition and fingerprint scanning. This is an additional layer of security for accurate verification methods.

AI can also be utilized to monitor online casino systems. This technology is developed to detect suspicious activity. Along with stricter biometric authentication measures, it can be used to detect minors who try to outsmart the system.

While creating a secure system that can’t be accessed by minors is challenging, it can be achieved to keep this industry blossoming.