Poland is the latest European country to say that it will regulate the Internet gambling industry.

From the Warsaw Business Journal ...

http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&id=40961

Deputy Finance Minister Jacek Kapica said in late April that the government plans to legalize online gambling by the end of the year. The previous conservative Law and Justice (PiS) government ruled against legalizing online betting a year ago after Ministry of Finance analysts argued that the cost to the state would be too great.

The analysts claimed that any budget revenues from online gambling would be much lower than expected, whereas the cost of regulating the industry would be too high. However, according to Merrill Lynch estimates, gross online gambling revenues could reach $48 (zł.106) billion by 2010, making it an extremely lucrative business.

"We cannot control this process anyway and it is better that the budget at least derives some revenue from it," Kapica told reporters.

Polish press has suggested that Poland's change of heart was influenced by last year's European Court of Justice ruling which said that Italy may not use criminal law to ban foreign online gambling companies from attracting Italian players.