Blik introduces a mechanism to block transactions for illegal online casinos

Introduction of such a mechanism from September 1 this year. announced at the end of July the operator of the Blik system - Polski Standard Płatności (PSP).

Not everyone can operate in Poland

The online gambling market is currently cross-border, which means that there are websites that can operate legally in the country of their registration, but at the same time cannot offer such services in Poland, Monika Król, vice president of Polski Standard Płatności, the operator of the Blik system, told PAP.

Therefore, on the Blik system side, we decided to introduce an additional mechanism blocking transactions carried out by entities that are illegal from the perspective of Polish law, although the regulations impose obligations in this respect primarily on payment service providers - emphasized the Blik representative.

How does the Blik lock system work?

She explained that the blocking criteria were based on the Register of Domains Used to Offer Gambling Games in violation of the Act, kept by the Minister of Finance.

The system automatically checks the domain associated with the transaction and if it is in the Registry, the payment is not authorized. We wanted a solution that would increase user security and the transparency of Blik's operations, and at the same time clearly embed the rules for handling such transactions in the Polish legal system - noted the vice-president.

According to the July PSP announcement, the President of the National Bank of Poland gave consent to the introduction of the new mechanism. Such a system is to be used for domestic and foreign transactions, and Blik will verify whether the domain is in the register of the Ministry of Finance. Verification will be possible by connecting the Blik system with the register of the Ministry of Finance via API.

Gray area in gambling

Ministry of Finance in May this year. reported that the participation of the so-called The gray zone in online gambling is declining. In 2017, it was estimated at 58.6 percent, and in 2024 - at 29.1 percent. Moreover, the Ministry of Finance reported that there are over 55,000 domains in the register of domains enabling access to illegal online gambling. entries and 700 new domains are added there every month.

The development of the Blik system is the responsibility of Polski Standard Płatności, whose shareholders are: Alior Bank, Bank Millennium, Erste Bank Polska, ING Bank Śląski, mBank, PKO Bank Polski and Mastercard. In 2025, Blik users completed 2.9 billion transactions worth PLN 441.5 billion. However, in the first half of this year it was almost 1.6 billion transactions worth PLN 244.8 billion.