Promotional Lottery or Contest? When Marketing Campaigns in Poland Need a Gambling Permit

Every year, marketing teams in Poland run thousands of prize promotions, and a surprising number of them are gambling under Polish law. The distinction between a contest and a promotional lottery is not a matter of branding: it determines whether you need a permit from the tax authority, a bank guarantee and a set of statutory rules. Here is how the line is drawn.

The legal test

Under the Polish Gambling Act, a promotional lottery is a game in which participation is obtained by purchasing a product or service, and prizes are awarded by chance. The key elements are the purchase condition and the element of chance. A contest, by contrast, awards prizes on the basis of skill, creativity or knowledge, judged by a jury or objective criteria. If the winner is drawn at random from people who bought something, it is a lottery and it needs a permit.

Common misclassifications

Random draws among customers, scratch cards attached to products, receipts entered into a prize draw, and apps that award prizes randomly on purchase are all promotional lotteries. Calling the campaign a contest, adding a token question or requiring a slogan does not change its nature if the winner is ultimately chosen by chance. Conversely, a genuine creative competition judged on merit is not gambling even if a purchase is required.

The permit

A promotional lottery requires a permit issued by the director of the competent tax administration chamber. The application includes the lottery rules, a description of the prize pool, evidence of a bank guarantee for prize payment and the organiser’s details. The permit fee is calculated as a percentage of the prize pool. Processing takes up to two months, so campaigns need to be planned well in advance.

Obligations of the organiser

The organiser must run the lottery according to the approved rules, ensure the draw is supervised, keep records, settle any withholding tax on prizes above the exempt threshold, and report to the authority after the lottery ends. Prizes are exempt from personal income tax up to a statutory threshold; above it, a flat withholding tax applies.

Penalties

Running a promotional lottery without a permit is a fiscal offence. The authority can impose a financial penalty on the organiser calculated as a multiple of the prize pool, and individuals responsible may face fiscal-penal liability. Agencies running campaigns for clients share this exposure.

Practical advice

Decide the mechanic early, structure it either as a genuine skill-based contest or as a properly permitted lottery, and build the permit timeline into the campaign plan. Where the campaign is pan-European, note that Polish rules apply to the Polish leg regardless of where the organiser is based.

Our licensing practice advises brands and agencies on classification, permits and lottery rules for Polish campaigns.