For starters, we have good news for all poker players. Hooray, let's be happy, poker is a professional sport! Specifically, this is how it is newly defined in Spain.
But that's where the good news ended. Spain did not take this step to please us, but to rob every poker player of their money. The Spanish authorities have decided that all players of poker, chess, billiards and card games are professional players in the same way as football or tennis players.
Maybe right now you're thinking that it can't apply to you because you're not Spanish. Well, the authorities have decided that everyone will pay taxes, and it doesn't matter if you are Spanish or come from any other country in the world. If you play a tournament in Spain and live in the European Union you will pay a tax of 19 percent, if you are from a country outside the EU you will pay 24 percent.
You pay tax on any winnings you get, and it doesn't matter if you ended up with a plus or a minus in the total amount. Of course, this decision of the authorities is not liked at all by the players, especially the High Roller players. If you follow the events of the current EPT Barcelona, you may have noticed that only a few players are playing High Roller tournaments with a buy-in of €25,000 and more. This may be due to the new taxes. Many players choose to play only the first part of the EPT tournaments, namely those with a lower buy-in.
Spanish taxes also caused wrinkles of WSOP 2019 Main Event champion Hossein Ensan, who finished third in the EPT Barcelona Main Event in 2014 and took home €652,667. After he resolved his tax obligations in his home country of Germany, in 2018 he received a letter from Spain, where the authorities demanded €235,000 in taxes from him for the 2014 winnings. But that was not all. In addition, they demanded additional interest and legal fees.
However, Ensan was not the only one contacted by the Spanish authorities during this period. Other players from Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, etc. reported the same problems. Spain has one of the strictest tax laws, but many things are unclear and players have been able to avoid paying.
After the announcement of the new taxation of poker players, apparently no one will avoid paying. Even before the start of EPT Barcelona, the organizers said that neither they nor the casino would deduct any money from the winnings, but they should definitely contact tax advisors. They also stated that each player has to solve their tax obligations individually.
In the end, this whole topic opened up another question for us. When a poker player is considered a professional athlete, and poker is therefore a sport, can poker tournaments be organized outside of gaming rooms and casinos? The new legislation again brings a lot of ambiguities, and only time will tell the reality.
What do you think about Spain recognizing poker as a sport? What do you think about the new taxes? Do you think these changes will threaten the future proceedings of EPT Barcelona and other events? Let us know in the comments on our social networks.
Source: highstakesdb, vip-grinders, pokerfirma, pokernews, pokerfuse, focus.independent.ie, gambleindiana
