Aug 20, 2010 The answer to this a definite “yes,” as it is perfectly legal to deposit for online poker in USA, for all different types of poker games. Players in the United States are not in any legal jeopardy for playing poker online, and there have been no instances of the US government – or even state governments – trying to penalize players.
- Jun 16, 2014 A judgment by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) determined that the gambling licensing system in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein does not constitute an inconsistent legal framework for gambling regulation.In effect, the ruling ensures that licenses held by operators such as PokerStars, 888, bwin.party and many others will be valid for their whole six year term.
- Special Report: Schleswig-Holstein’s Gambling Act Rita Gyaraki, GamblingCompliance Introduction On September 14 Schleswig-Holstein became the first German state to pass legislation regulating online gambling. In this report GamblingCompliance examines the new Gambling Act, translating pertinent clauses and putting the law into its political.
If you're in Germany, you're probably left wondering what kind of poker games you're actually allowed to play. Currently, the confusing legal situation in the country is not helping anyone answer that question.
With norms to regulate online poker left in the hands of 16 different Länder (German Federal States) and home games partially allowed after a recent ruling from the German Federal Administrative Court, playing poker in the country that produced champions like Marvin Rettenmaier and 2013 GPI Player of the Year Ole Schemion is far more difficult than one would guess.
So, while German players keep crushing one international event after another, let's have a quick look at how things work in Europe's largest national economy.
Live poker in Germany: What is allowed, and what isn't?
In Germany, only state casinos are allowed to host poker cash games or tournaments. All sorts of real-money gambling poker outside of casinos (like home games, card clubs, etc.) is forbidden, and police raids of underground games are not unheard of.
There are however a few exceptions: playing for very small stakes in home games is not prosecuted, and sometimes it is also possible to find particular tournaments allowed to be organized by non-state casino hosts.
On Jan. 27, 2014, the German Federal Administrative Court ruled that tournaments with very low buy ins (around €15) do not constitute illegal gambling. This law applies so long as the buy-ins are mainly used to cover the costs of the event and are not redistributed among the players.
Despite the fact it does not refer to events with significant figures, the ruling was widely welcome by Germany’s poker community as the country has a rather vivid scene of those very low buy-in tournaments.
The most prominent host for that kind of events is the PokerBundesliga, a circuit which offers €15 tournaments where the participants can win entries to other tournaments. Their yearly final in Leipzig regularly attracts over 1,000 players.
In Short: Poker in casinos is allowed, low-stakes home games are OK, and low-stakes tournaments are also OK.
Online Poker in Germany: Where things get confusing
It is difficult to have a complete understanding of Germany’s online poker regulation. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that each one of the 16 German Federal States has its own laws regarding online gambling and does not request to work together with the others to build a homogeneous, national system.
What we do know is that 15 of the 16 German states do not allow to for the providing of online poker services, even though none of those 15 different pieces of legislation mention whether it is allowed to play online poker or not.
Up until now no player has ever been prosecuted in Germany for playing online poker, but legal certainty regarding online poker is not provided by the legislation in those 15 states.
Currently, all German states are working on an amendment to the current gambling law, which in its current revision reinforces the strict prohibition of all forms of online gambling with the exception of the federal lottery.
But as the European Court of Justice has already decreed in 2010, that such a broad prohibition is against EU law, it seems likely that this new revision will be overruled once again.
One German Federal State, Schleswig-Holstein, is the only one that tried to differentiate from others and decided to allow both online gambling and sports betting in mid-2011.
Schleswig Holstein War
Schleswig-Holstein started issuing licenses in early 2012 for some companies to offer online gambling to Schleswig-Holstein residents. Among the first rooms to secure a license from the state are industry leaders PokerStars, 888 and Ladbrokes.
Unfortunately for poker players, right after Schleswig-Holstein passed this online regulation, the state government was voted out of office, and the newly elected governor of Schleswig-Holstein announced his intention to revoke the whole piece of regulation.
All this said, up until now the new state government did not follow through on that announcement, even if the current situation in Schleswig-Holstein is a stalemate since neither players nor providers have any legal certainty that online poker stays legal and regulated in the state.
In short: Providing online gambling is not allowed (with the current exception of Schleswig-Holstein), and playing online is not prosecuted.
Poker’s tax heaven … until you win
In general, poker players do not have to pay taxes in Germany as gambling winnings are non-assessable. Up until 2010 poker was considered a game of chance by the German jurisdiction.
Schleswig Holstein Question
Broadly this still holds true to date, even if Cologne's Financial Court ruled in October 2012 that under certain circumstances revenues generated via poker tournaments are taxable.
In the now famous Eddy-Scharf-Ruling, which forced the two-time WSOP bracelet holder to pay taxes on his winnings as 'they counted as commercial income as they were linked to his personal skills,' the Cologne court decreed that a person who regularly generates income via poker games has to pay regular income taxes on those revenues.
Schleswig Holstein Crisis
Thus, now many professional poker players reside in Austria or England to avoid having to pay income taxes. For the average casino player the Cologne verdict has no consequences, though, as long as poker is not his main source of income.
In short: As long as poker is not your main source of income, your winnings are not taxable. If you win big, you better live elsewhere.
*Lead photo courtesy of fc02.deviantart.net.
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History Of Schleswig Holstein
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Full Tilt
Online gambling is mostly outlawed in Germany. We say
“mostly” because Germany is one of those places where it’s
definitely illegal to host a gaming site, but the legality of
just placing bets online is unclear. A certain interpretation of
German law could classify the act of placing a bet online as
illegal, but the authorities appear to have no interest in
reading or enforcing the law in that manner.
One thing we can tell you for certain is that online gambling
is popular in Germany. More importantly, not a single German has
ever gotten in trouble placing a bet over the internet. The
legal battles in that country mostly revolve around the right of
operators to offer their services to the public.
Where to Play Online
Any Germans reading this should look to gambling sites based
out of the country. Current national law doesn’t allow for the
licensing of casino sites, so people resort to foreign
operators. Companies based outside of Germany aren’t beholden
to German law and can therefore accept wagers from anyone inside
the country.
Towns In Schleswig Holstein Germany
The main thing to remember when dealing with foreign
operators is that you have no legal recourse under German law if
something happens to your money. It’s best to stick with
gambling sites that are licensed by reputable jurisdictions such
as the UK or the Isle of Man. Equally important is the
reputation of each site in terms of paying players and hosting
honest games.
Stick with the places recommended here to ensure your safety
and get paid when you win. These are some of the biggest names
in the global gaming market, and they are as legit as any
brick-and-mortar casino in Germany.
German Law is in a State of Flux
Schleswig Holstein Ship
The difficulty in analyzing the German market is that the
laws have experienced a great deal of turbulence in recent
times. Adding to the confusion is the ability of each state to
regulate gambling how it sees fit.
Germany is a mix of wide-reaching national laws and more
limited state laws. Some forms of betting are allowed in some
states while others are banned in others. It’s also apparent
that incoming governors are not afraid to completely reverse
gaming laws enacted by their predecessors.
Up until 2008, online gambling was unregulated in Germany.
The laws at the time didn’t address the internet in any way.
Things changed when the Interstate Treaty on Gambling (ISTG) was
passed in 2008. This effectively banned all forms of online
gambling other than sports betting and horse racing offered by
state-owned entities.
All 16 states initially joined the treaty. The state of
Schleswig-Holstein opted out in 2012 and even issued licenses to
about 3 dozen operators, including PokerStars and 888. It would
not last for long. The move was reversed just a year later when
the state government was voted out of office and the new
governor took over.
The good news for the operators that went through the trouble
of getting licensed is their 6-year licenses remain in effect.
All operators who earned licenses are able to provide real money
casino games and poker to players inside the state of
Schleswig-Holstein until 2018.
As things stand now, online gambling is largely outlawed
across Germany with the exception of the two dozen or so operators
who have licenses to operate in Schleswig-Holstein. There are no
other legal gaming sites in Germany, and there’s no way to
obtain a license to offer games.
Holstein Schleswig Immigration 1870
German gaming laws violate EU rules regarding free trade and
competition. The EU has chastised Germany for its harsh stance
on gambling, but Germany seems destined to keep things as they
are for the time being. In the meantime, we would like to point
you to any of the safe and reputable gaming sites mentioned on
this site.