The stimulating function of betting and gambling tax in theoretical terms and in the assumptions of the Polish legislator

Abstract

The article addresses the issues of the stimulating (intervention) function of the betting and gambling tax. It attempts to answer the question whether the intention of the Polish legislator was to ascribe this function to the betting and gambling tax, and if so, to what extent such assumptions were reflected in the legal provisions and the resulting norms. The first part of the article identifies the basic levels of the performance of the stimulating function of the betting and gambling tax in theoretical terms. The second part presents the functions that were attributed to the lottery monopoly and the taxes that affected the organisation of gambling games in the interwar period and in the Polish People’s Republic. The third part of the article analyses the provisions of the Act on Games and Mutual Wagering as well as the Gambling Law in the context of the extent to which these regulations were expected to have an interventional effect at the drafting and adoption stage.