The Current Legal Situation of Poker in Germany and Austria

These are the days of miracles and wonders! Could it be more confusing? What I am talking about is the current legal situation of poker in Germany. Following a very old court decision from 1906, poker is still to be considered a game of chance in Germany, not a game of skill. German law states that all organized public games – of chances like casino games, sports betting, and poker – have to be licensed. In reality, only government-owned companies get a license. If in very rare cases a private company is allowed to maintain a casino, the taxes are as much as 92 percent. The official declaration of the authorities states that this is necessary to protect addicted and compulsive gamblers and channel the gambling activities of the population. Obviously, the true reason for this strategy is to get every cent of profit in the public household, as the government-owned casinos are massive advertisers in all media. Due to this fact, there is not one legal private cardroom in Germany, and the few government live casinos that offer poker games are forced to organize only high-stakes games, as low-limit games can't create enough drop to cover the expenses. So, the only alternative for recreational players, who don't want to risk perhaps a monthly salary participating in a high-stakes game, is to play online. Here, it is getting even more confusing: The company XY, traded on the London Stock Exchange, operates with a licence of Gibraltar, and its poker server is located in Gibraltar, as well. If a German online player joins a poker game offered by this company, he doesn't play in Germany, even if he is sitting in his living room in the centre of Frankfurt, because the action takes place on the server in Gibraltar. And this is legal! If the same company wants to place some advertisement in the German media … sorry, no chance, this is illegal. So, what the global players are doing right now is placing a huge number of TV spots for their free-play money sites, hoping that some of the customers will find the way to the real action. And while the German authorities are still discussing what would be the best way to protect their monopoly, millions of euros find their way to our neighbour countries, where the poker market is more liberal. Meanwhile, another market gap is booming; several small companies organize no-limit hold'em tournaments all over in Germany. The trick is that the participants have to pay a buy-in, but can't win any prize money. It might happen that the guys pay up to 100 euros and the first prize is a chip set or a shirt. Sometimes, between 200 and 300 people enter these tournaments, which are held in local pubs, billiard saloons, or meeting centres, always with the permission of the city administration. It's legal because the competitors can't win anything worthwhile. Something definitely must be wrong with our system.



A little bit more liberal is the situation in Austria. When Peter Zanoni opened the private Concord Card Casino in Vienna 13 years ago, he also got involved in endless battles of legal affairs with the Austrian administration. After plenty of court decisions, they finally reached something like a status quo, and nowadays you can find plenty of private cardrooms in Austria. But Zanoni wants more. I recently met him at the world poker congress in Stockholm. This year, he founded the Austrian Poker Sports Association (APSA) and the European Poker Sports Association (EPSA). He started a very well-planned long-term trial to prove that poker is truly a game of skill. His target: Poker should be recognized as an Olympic sport. It might sound a bit strange, but when you watch this powerful guy, how obstinate he is in following that difficult path, he might have a chance.



Tournament poker is also booming in Austria. The Concord Card Casino hosts a small beginners tournament every Sunday with a buy-in of only 10 euros and unlimited rebuys. The average number of players exceeds 200. It's the same picture at the Casino Bregenz. This venue, which belongs to the officially licensed Casinos Austria group, organizes three poker festivals each year. Up until 2004, we had barely more than 50 to 70 players taking part; now, the number of competitors has tripled up. Of course, the whole poker crew in Bregenz is doing a fantastic job and they are famous for their hospitality, but without the huge number of relatively new players, who are attracted by the multiple televised poker events, these numbers would be nearly impossible to reach.



One thing really makes me feel sad. Due to the fact that this year's World Series of Poker ran through July and the beginning of August, I had to miss the incomparable poker festival at Casino Velden. This event was a real highlight on my schedule, with an outstanding leisure factor. Velden is located near the Woerthersee. A breathtaking landscape, beautiful golf courses, and partying all night long created a mixture that was hard to beat. But with the event hosted right in the middle of the WSOP, I had no chance to make it. As an old German idiom says: "You can dance only in one wedding at the same time."



Michael Keiner is an independent German poker pro on the international tournament circuit. He maintains his own site at www.michaelkeiner.de.