Casino Concession Tenders in Poland: Schedule, Results and How to Compete

Casino concessions in Poland are scarce by law, which makes every tender a competitive event followed closely by domestic and international operators. This article explains how the tender cycle works, what the Ministry of Finance scores and how to prepare an application that can win.

Why tenders happen

The Gambling Act caps the number of casinos at one per 650,000 inhabitants of a voivodeship, with additional casinos permitted in the largest cities. Concessions are granted for six years. When a concession expires or is revoked, the location becomes available, and if more than one applicant files for it, the Minister of Finance runs a tender. In practice the largest cities, Warsaw, Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk, Łódź and Katowice, attract several bidders each cycle, while smaller voivodeship capitals often see one or two.

Tracking the cycle

Because concessions have fixed terms, the expiry dates in each city are known years in advance. Operators planning to enter or expand map these dates, prepare premises options and start assembling documentation twelve to eighteen months before the expected announcement. The Ministry publishes announcements of proceedings in its Public Information Bulletin, with deadlines for applications and the criteria to be applied.

How applications are scored

A tender committee evaluates applications against statutory criteria. The weight falls on the applicant’s experience in operating casinos, its financial standing and the lawful origin of its capital, the proposed premises and their location and standard, the planned investment, the number of jobs to be created and the overall completeness and quality of the file. Formal errors, missing documents or late submissions lead to rejection before merits are considered.

What winning applications contain

Successful bids typically feature a secured, high-standard venue in a prime location with lease or ownership documents in place, a credible investment plan with evidence of financing, experienced management with a clean regulatory record, detailed operating procedures including AML and responsible gambling, and a staffing plan with training commitments. Incumbent operators defending their concession benefit from track record, but newcomers have won by out-investing them.

Corporate and financial requirements

The applicant must be a Polish joint-stock or limited liability company, or an EU/EEA company operating through a Polish branch, with share capital of at least four million zloty, registered shares, shareholders and management of impeccable reputation and documented sources of funds. A financial security, typically a bank guarantee, is required. These elements take months to arrange and must be ready at filing.

Results and appeals

The Minister issues a decision granting the concession to the highest-scored applicant and publishes the outcome. Unsuccessful applicants may request reconsideration and ultimately appeal to the administrative courts, and several tenders have been contested, which can delay the opening of a casino by months.

After winning

The concession holder must open the casino within the period set in the decision, meet technical and staffing requirements, obtain professional certificates for key staff, connect monitoring systems and begin operating under the 50% GGR tax regime.

Our licensing practice prepares casino tender applications and represents bidders in contested proceedings. See also our overview of casino concessions in Poland.