UOKiK opens new consumer-protection checks across Polish bookmakers on 24 August 2026

Poland’s Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has started a fresh review of major bookmakers, looking at whether their digital services, contractual terms and interface design meet consumer-protection standards. For PSPs and operators, the practical issue is simple: if the regulator decides a site or app nudges users too hard, the payment flow is part of the same customer journey.

1. UOKiK announced the initiative on 24 August 2026 as part of its monitoring of the Polish betting market. The authority said it is examining whether betting services operate in a transparent and consumer-friendly manner, with a specific focus on digital services, terms and design practices that could influence customer decisions.
2. The review covers STS, Fortuna Online Zakłady Bukmacherskie, Superbet Zakłady Bukmacherskie, Bukmacherska, identified by UOKiK through fuksiarz.pl, E-toto Zakłady Bukmacherskie, LV Bet Zakłady Bukmacherskie and Totalbet Zakłady Bukmacherskie. UOKiK’s notice gives the operator names more precisely than earlier references circulating around the market.
3. UOKiK described the process as monitoring and explanatory proceedings, not a finding that any of the named companies breached the law. That distinction matters: the regulator is checking whether the practices used in customer-facing services comply with consumer-protection requirements and the responsibilities attached to the gambling market.
4. A central part of the review is so-called dark patterns — interface designs, messages or processes that may steer consumers toward decisions they might not otherwise make. In practice, UOKiK wants to know whether bookmakers use design choices that encourage customers to keep playing or make it unnecessarily difficult to stop.
5. The regulator said its concern is not limited to design aesthetics. It is looking at whether unclear messaging, overly prominent prompts, confusing navigation or asymmetric processes create unfair influence on consumers or make important choices harder than they should be.