Germany’s Anti-Online Poker Gambling Law Approved by 15 of 16 States

the proposal was damned by the European Commission and it's subject to the approval of the same. So the curious wait begins

Very frustrating that the no other 'Bundesland' followed Schleswig-Holstein's example. I hope the EU commission will not approve of the new law.

I think it's not so bad seing how the other EU country reacted to online gambling.

at least if they "outlaw" it they will probably not enforce it to much cause they won't gain money from this. hte casinos will but the gov as limited incentive to invest in high profile IP blocking

kind of how the US "didn't enforce it much" for, oh, 5 years after UIGEA?
interested to see how this turns out, but if they pass a law they will definitely eventually try to enforce it. that is their job anyhow...

there will never be IP blocking in Germany. They tried to IP block childporn sites but were not allowed to do so. Internet censorship debate is done in germany, there wont be any

Wow, this sounds pretty bad. I was just talking about this with a friend the other day, and this is news to us both.

im german, this looks tilting to me

this sounds like good news tho? like a way to circumvent the banning? just curious how this will look in practice

When you thought politicians couldn't get any dumber.

We just have to wait for the next election when the Piratenpartei kicks the asses of the standard parties.

So.. 3 month of hardcore grinding and then moving to Kiel, anyone?

the law would ban all online poker and casinos, and would restrict online sports betting to a limited number of operators.

i am sorry but that seems kind of backwards. They allow sports betting but don't allow poker? I hope things work out for you guys in Germany.

I hope that US will come up with a plan that won't ruin online poker here in the US.

I thought online poker in Germany was already considered illegal, does this mean they're actually going to do something about it this time?

Btw does anyone in Germany actually pay taxes or you just withdrawal 10k per month and pretend nothing happened?

I live in Schleswig-Holstein, does that mean I will still be able to play online?

It is a grey area ATM. If you withdraw one lump sum, it doesent really matter how much it is, you can say you won an MTT and it is (in theory anyway) tax free, like the lottery (for now). If you withdraw 10K 4+ times in a year, then you can just see if they notice - putting it in your tax form as gambling winning, not mentioning it and getting caught is a bad idea - then you may be ignored or you may have to pay taxes on a second income. There are not any concrete laws as of yet, at least as far as I know. If anyone does know, please post.

I am not a tax expert, but I have asked 2 tax advisers, and they were both not sure how it goes. Both said to declare withdrawals, but in the case of multiple withdrawals, be ready for taxation.

I kinda hope to eventually be taxed, cause that will mean I am withdrawing sums that matter on a regular basis

Dude there is no taxes on gambling in Germany, like many eu states.

Are you sure about that? I'm pretty sure Pius Heinz moved to Austria after he won the ME to avoid taxes....