Since February 13th Swedish and Finnish players will be moved from PokeStars.COM to PokerStars.EU software. The reason for this is that PokerStars has gotten a license in Malta (where many other betting companies also have their license), which makes all winnings tax free. There is no difference when it comes to tournaments, cash games etc, so players from Finland and Sweden can still take part in[...] Read more » PokerStars Gets EU License
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 44 (M)
Posts: 4827
If it doesn’t changes nothing to players, this can only mean very good news to Pokerstars, not paying tax from winnings. Many Portuguese companies have moved their headquarters during last year to Holland with the same intention, but they are still paying something. Can’t figure out why haven’t they moved to Malta. Or this tax free just applies to betting companies? Think I just got it now!
Joined: Feb '12
Location: Germany
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 23
Posted by Fakiry: If it doesn�t changes nothing to players, this can only mean very good news to Pokerstars, not paying tax from winnings. Many Portuguese companies have moved their headquarters during last year to Holland with the same intention, but they are still paying something. Can�t figure out why haven�t they moved to Malta. Or this tax free just applies to betting companies? Think I just got it now!
This news is not about Pokerstars paying no taxes. The tax rate for online gaming companies is very low in Malta, but it ain't zero. It's about the winnings of players from Sweden and Finland. Until February 13th, players from these countries had to pay taxes on their winnings from Pokerstars.com in their country. Now these players don't have to pay taxes on their winnings because their countries don't charge taxes on winnings from sites that are based in europe.
Joined: Feb '12
Location: Germany
Age: 45 (F)
Posts: 23
Posted by initiator: DOES THIS REALLY MAKE A DIF: TO US EURO: PLAYERS�
For the swedish and finnish players who win enough money and who were honest taxpayers it makes a big difference. It depends on the tax law of your country. For german players like us it doesn't make a difference right now. We have to pay taxes on online poker winnings, regardless if it is considered legal or illegal, as long as we play a certain amount of time daily (about 6 hours) and make profit about 1.500€ or higher a month. But these tax laws might change an than it can make a difference if you play on a site that is based in europe or not.
Joined: May '08
Location: Lithuania
Age: 39 (M)
Posts: 10090
any move that gaming operator does in order to save its customers money is a good move- if it is legal of course. here we see that pokerstars moved to help swedish and finish players, and especially considering that there are many high volume players there is is probably a good move
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 44 (M)
Posts: 4827
Thanks for the explanation tn111978, i really wasn’t understanding the advantage of this movement for players, and now that you told me that they used to pay taxes from their winnings because the site wasn’t from an European country and now they will not be paying, that really makes all the difference for those from Sweden and Finland who use to make money from Pokerstars. But, if you can, tell me one other thing: if the players, instead of withdrawing directly from Pokerstars to their bank accounts, decide to withdraw to an online wallet, will it make any difference? That way, government doesn’t know if the money comes from online game winnings or from any other place…
