Play poker in Germany

Even though online gaming is illegal in Germany no one has been prosecuted for playing

German poker is alive and well despite being technically illegal. The German lawyer Wulf Hambach states how, in Germany it is unequivocally against the law to play, “On paper, it's illegal to play for money - that goes back to a treaty enacted in 2008, which stipulates a total ban on online gambling: lotteries, sports betting and online poker as well," he says. He goes on to add that it’s not reasonable to expect them to prosecute the 5 million odd players. Although the online gaming industry was estimated by the European Commission is to be worth $11.8 billion per year in 2008 the German government haven’t made a single penny from it in taxes nor have they made a single prosecution from online gaming.

The British government makes £250 million per year from the regulation and control of online gaming says Leighton Vaughan Williams, the director of the Betting Research Unit at Nottingham Business School. Gamblers themselves don't have to pay tax on their winnings, but 15 per cent of all profits made by operators from their clients must be paid to the government. The reason that the British model works is because licensing allows operators to advertise their brands while conforming to stringent UK gaming rules such as ensuring that they receive proof of age as well as being forbidden from offering the most addictive games to players.

At the moment the German government seems to be stuck in a rut when it comes to making money from online gaming. Since, on the one hand online gaming is illegal the government can’t take the profits from the game there are no operators who are obliged to pay them any money. On the other hand since they haven’t actually prosecuted anyone the government are missing out on the same amount of revenues that their British counterparts are receiving. The German tax authority would dearly love to tax gamers making their living from online poker but they can’t since it is illegal to be playing it.

It is difficult to present poker as a pure game of chance since there are people who make their entire living from playing the game. The current treaty that Germany operates by with regards to online gaming is due to expire in 2012 raising expectations as to some kind of change in the way that the German government deals with online gaming in the months to come.