Deputy Finance Minister Jacek Kapica announced Poland’s decision to regulate online gambling by the end of the year.  There are several reasons behind the government’s change of heart towards Internet gambling.  Political changes and pressure from the European Union have been instrumental in the new regulation proposal.  Last year’s ruling that Italy couldn’t use criminal law to ban online gambling based in EU countries is putting pressure on many other nations.  The sheer volume of online gambling revenues and tax potential compared to the cost of regulation is another factor.  Of course, much of the reason can be summed up by Kapica himself: “We cannot control this process anyway and it is better that the Budget at least derives some revenue from it”.