Poland's decision to connect BLIK, the country's widely used mobile payment system, to a government register of illegal gambling websites is beginning to produce measurable results.

New data published on September 22 suggests the effect lasted considerably longer than the initial reaction to the measure. Poland's iGaming search demand remained substantially below its late-August level for much of the first 18 days after the payment controls took effect on September 1, according to Blask Index data reported by Asia Gaming Brief.

Before the change, daily demand was running at approximately 270,000 to 300,000. Between September 1 and 18, it generally remained between roughly 110,000 and 170,000. The Blask Index, which uses normalized online search data to measure demand for iGaming brands, initially recorded a 24.8% weekly decline in Poland.

However, the numbers need careful interpretation. Demand surged to 338,673 on September 19 and 364,634 on September 20 during a major Polish football weekend. Search activity is also not the same as deposits or gambling revenue. The data therefore cannot establish how much money BLIK prevented from reaching unlicensed operators, nor does it prove that the effect will be permanent.

What it does provide is an early indication that payment infrastructure could become an increasingly important enforcement layer against illegal online casinos.

How the BLIK Gambling Block Works

BLIK is a Polish mobile payment system operated by Polski Standard Płatności [PSP - Polish Payment Standard]. Consumers can generate a six-digit BLIK code through participating banking apps and use it to authorize online payments.

Since September 1, BLIK has been checking domains associated with online transactions against Poland's official register of illegal gambling websites. When a transaction is associated with a domain appearing on the register, the payment can be rejected before authorization.

Poland's Ministry of Finance maintains the register, which contains domains used to offer gambling in violation of Polish law. The system effectively adds payment screening to existing enforcement measures rather than relying exclusively on website restrictions.

That distinction is particularly important for mobile gambling.

Why This Matters for Casino Apps and PWAs

Offshore casino operators can sometimes respond to conventional domain blocking by switching domains, using mirror websites or directing users toward another mobile web address.

A PWA [Progressive Web App] can make this even more relevant.

Replacing a domain can be relatively straightforward. Replacing access to one of a country's dominant domestic payment systems can be considerably more difficult.

This is why the BLIK development deserves attention from the casino app industry. Regulators are no longer focusing solely on where gambling services are hosted or how users reach them. The payment infrastructure supporting deposits is becoming another potential enforcement point.

BLIK is also far from a niche payment service. According to the company's official figures, users completed 2.9 billion BLIK transactions worth PLN441.5 billion (€104.9 billion) in 2025, while the system finished the year with 20.7 million active accounts.

The scale of BLIK makes Poland an important test market for payment-based gambling enforcement.

The Weak Point: Domains Can Move Faster Than Blacklists

Payment screening is not an automatic solution to illegal gambling.

Poland's approach still depends heavily on identifying illegal domains and adding them to the government register. Asia Gaming Brief reports that the registry contains more than 55,000 domains and has recently been expanding by roughly 700 domains per month.

That creates an ongoing technology challenge.

Offshore operators can establish new domains and redirect users. Regulators must identify those domains and update their databases quickly enough for payment blocking to remain effective.

Accuracy matters as well. When automated payment decisions depend on regulatory databases, outdated information and incorrectly identified domains can potentially create problems for legitimate transactions.

The effectiveness of Poland's model therefore depends on two systems working together: the speed of the payment technology and the quality of the regulatory data behind it.

Poland Is Part of a Bigger Payment Enforcement Trend

Poland is not the only market looking more closely at the financial infrastructure behind online gambling.

Brazil has also strengthened its approach to payment enforcement, placing greater responsibility on financial institutions and payment providers to identify transactions connected with unauthorized gambling operations.

The approaches are not identical, but the direction is similar. Regulators are increasingly recognizing that restricting access to a website is only one part of disrupting an illegal digital gambling business.

Website blocking targets access. App-store rules target distribution. Payment restrictions target monetization.

For offshore casino apps and PWAs, that final layer could become particularly significant because an operator may be able to replace a website faster than it can replace convenient access to trusted domestic payment methods.

Could Payment Screening Become a Major 2027 Regulatory Trend?

Three weeks of data from Poland is not enough to declare the experiment a success.

The sharp rebound during the September 19-20 football weekend is an important reminder that gambling demand can be heavily influenced by sporting events. Blask measures online demand rather than deposits, transaction values or gross gaming revenue [GGR - the amount wagered minus winnings paid to players].

Nevertheless, the sustained decline during much of the period following implementation makes Poland worth watching.

If regulators can connect government databases with payment systems in near real time, payment technology could become a much more important part of online gambling enforcement in 2027.

For casino apps, that could change the compliance conversation. The question may no longer be limited to whether an app can appear in an app store or whether users can access its domain. Increasingly, regulators may also focus on what happens when a player taps the Deposit button.

Sources Referred
Asia Gaming Brief. (2026, September 22). Poland sees 20.6% iGaming rebound when football weekend breaks three-week payment blockade. Asia Gaming Brief

BLIK. (2026, February 17). Nearly 3 bn BLIK transactions in 2025 and over 2 m new users. BLIK

Blask. (2026). iGaming market weekly report: September 7-13, 2026. Blask

Ministry of Finance, Republic of Poland. (n.d.). Register of domains used to offer gambling games contrary to the Gambling Act. Polish Ministry of Finance