The product design and terms and conditions of Polish bookmakers have been placed under scrutiny by the country’s consumer-protection authority. Yet, Dr Justyna Grusza-Głębicka warns that a necessary assessment could be undermined by Poland’s failure to have never established clear, sector-specific standards for online platforms.
Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has begun a preliminary investigation into the practices of licensed bookmakers.
The probe will examine whether Polish bookmaker websites, apps and marketing materials contain what UOKiK, and many others in recent years, have branded ‘dark patterns’ – design influence the customer to gamble or encourage frequent play for the commercial benefit of the operator.
Furthermore, the agency will place the terms and conditions of bookmakers under the spotlight to uncover any “unfair contractual provisions covering the cancellation of bets, suspension of player accounts and settlement of winnings.”
Led by UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny, the review will mark the first examination of consumer rights since Poland overhauled its online gambling regime in 2017. The market significantly tightened the licensing of seven bookmakers operating under the terms of a new Gambling Act.
Dr Justyna Grusza-Głębicka, a legal expert in Polish gambling and representative of the Institute for Gambling Regulation (FIRH), views the intervention as marking a turning point for Poland’s licensed betting sector.
“Until now, regulatory scrutiny of licensed gambling operators has been associated primarily with the Gambling Act and the activities of the Ministry of Finance and the National Revenue Administration,” she explained.
“UOKiK’s intervention brings the consumer-protection dimension much more clearly into the regulatory discussion.”
Terms and conditions face scrutiny
Of particular concern are the liabilities imposed on customers through bookmakers’ terms and conditions, including the circumstances in which an operator can void a bet, block an account or withhold the settlement of winnings.
Should UOKiK establish infringements of Polish consumer law, the operators concerned could face significant financial penalties.
Grusza-Głębicka stated that licensed operators must uphold high standards of consumer protection and responsible gambling. Yet, Poland simply lacks sector-specific rules governing how broad consumer-protection principles should be applied to individual betting products.
“Consumer-protection obligations applicable to online gambling in Poland are fragmented across different areas of law, while detailed sector-specific standards governing the design of digital gambling products remain limited,” she said.
“Operators are already subject to responsible gambling requirements under gambling legislation, as well as general consumer-protection rules.
“However, when we move from general legal principles to very specific questions concerning product architecture, interfaces, player journeys, notifications or other engagement mechanisms, the regulatory boundaries become considerably less clear.”
The investigation will therefore test not only the legal wording of operators’ contracts, but also how those provisions are presented and applied throughout the customer journey and engagement with markets, odds, offers and prices.
Dark patterns or predictable standards
Close attention is needed on the terminology of dark patterns – digital design choices that may “steer customers towards particular decisions or make actions such as withdrawing, closing an account or stopping play more difficult.”
Grusza-Głębicka said scrutiny of these mechanisms must be accompanied by practical guidance that allows operators to distinguish acceptable engagement tools from manipulative product features.
“If regulators increasingly scrutinise individual elements of product design, the market needs sufficiently clear and predictable guidance on where legitimate customer engagement ends and potentially manipulative or harmful design begins,” she said.
“A high level of consumer protection should be expected from licensed gambling operators, but this should be accompanied by sufficiently clear standards and guidance on what good practice means in practical terms.
“Enforcement is necessary where infringements occur, but enforcement should not become a substitute for clear and predictable regulation.”
As such, caution is needed to prevent the investigation for chastising the nuances of gambling advertising on social media or streaming platforms.
“This is not how UOKiK describes the proceedings in its official announcement,” Grusza-Głębicka clarified.
“The authority refers more broadly to websites, apps, communication with players and the overall design of betting services.”
Consumer protection meets channelisation
FIRH believes the proceedings must also be assessed against the competitive pressures posed by Poland’s unlicensed gambling sector.
Grusza-Głębicka warned that illegal operators do not comply with the consumer-protection, responsible-gambling and advertising standards imposed on licensed businesses.
“Consumer-protection policy should therefore consider not only the standards imposed on licensed operators, but also whether consumers are effectively being channelled towards the regulated market where those standards can actually be enforced,” she said.
“For FIRH, these two objectives are not contradictory. Strong consumer protection and a competitive, well-regulated legal market should reinforce each other.”
Grusza-Głębicka concluded that the UOKiK proceedings should prompt a wider review of how Poland regulates the relationship between bookmakers and their customers.
She concluded: “They provide an opportunity for a broader discussion about what modern consumer protection in online gambling should look like, how detailed the applicable standards should be, and how regulators and the industry can create a framework that is both effective for players and predictable for licensed businesses.”