A Taxing Issue

Just as we were putting this issue of Card Player to bed news was breaking that Spanish poker players were the latest to come under the scrutiny of the beady eye of the tax man.

This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given the recent regulation and liberalisation of online poker in the country and the fact that many operators had to pay back taxes for operating in the country unlawfully for a number of years.

The move towards ring-fencing poker liquidity within country borders — the so called dot.country approach to regulation — is as a result of the need to raise vital tax revenue in recession hit countries.

Sweden has also taken a hard line on its online poker players tax affairs as has Italy where 4,000 players were found to have earned around $100 million which was not declared for tax.

While taxes are a necessary evil in all societies, governments’ need to be careful they don’t kill the goose that laid the golden egg.

While early indications show that online poker has grown in Spain since June 2012, France and Italy have not fared so well and already questions are being asked about the efficacy of the “go it alone” policy which could choke off demand and squeeze supply.

Of course players need to take responsibility for their own tax affairs and while regimes vary greatly across the EU ignorance of the rules is never considered a valid excuse by any tax inspector.

If a player believes they are being treated unfairly they need to make their voice heard which is not something the industry has been particularly good at in the past. Perhaps its time to get more vocal and ensure our elected representatives know how the numbers in our game stack up and how best to ensure an equitable playing field for all.

The Shape of Things to Come?

The New Year got off to a slow start for poker. The World Poker Tour National Dublin main event got 100 fewer runners than 2012 despite almost halving the buy in and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure main event saw numbers down eight percent — the lowest turnout since 2007.

According to PokerScout online poker traffic was down four percent in 2012. This drop would have been more dramatic but for the return of Full Tilt Poker in November.

Poker rooms and networks are busying themselves tampering with their “ecosystems” in the hope that they can stem the outflow of broke players and the pernicious influence of rakeback grinders which is smothering the game.

January is always the dreariest month in Europe. The Christmas hangover continues, resolutions are made and broken, and the cold, dark nights seem never ending. However, spring is just around the corner and by the time you read this the days will be getting longer, the sun higher in the sky, and the live poker circuit will be back in full swing.

Here’s to seeing some green shoots and blue skies soon. ♠