BLIK to Block Payments to Illegal Gambling Sites from September 1

Starting September 1, Poland's BLIK payment system will implement a new mechanism to block transactions directed to illegal gambling websites. Polski Standard Płatności, the operator of BLIK, has received approval from the President of the National Bank of Poland to introduce this control feature for online payments.

The new system will operate automatically by connecting BLIK to the Ministry of Finance's database via an API interface. This verification process will check if a website's domain is listed in the registry of sites offering gambling services in violation of Polish law. If the address is found in the database, the transaction will be blocked.

BLIK has emphasized that this measure exclusively targets payments to prohibited gambling sites. Users will continue to conduct their usual transactions seamlessly, including payments in physical and online stores, ATM withdrawals, and mobile transfers. The goal is to standardize rules and more effectively enforce existing Polish regulations concerning online gambling.

This initiative is part of a broader effort to combat the unregulated gambling sector in Poland. Currently, only registered companies paying taxes in Poland are legally permitted to offer sports betting, with Totalizator Sportowy holding a monopoly on online casinos. The Ministry of Finance reports a significant reduction in the grey market share of online gambling, from 58.6% in 2017 to 29.1% in 2024. The government registry already contains over 55,000 prohibited domains, with approximately 700 new addresses added monthly.