ShareThe Spanish Treasury has announced that it will now tax poker as a professional sport with its players being professional athletes. It’s not just poker, too, as billiards, chess, and all card games will be subject to the new legislation.
How Does this Affect Foreigners and the EPT Barcelona?
The European Poker Tour (EPT) stop in Barcelona is one of the most popular destinations on the calendar, but now what happens? Will players stay away now or will they come regardless in the mindset of only having to pay taxes if they actually cash?
The EPT organisers tried to alleviate fears by making it clear that they wouldn’t be collecting any taxes themselves, rather leaving it up to the players.
Barny Boatman of Hendon Mob fame gave a less than complimentary opinion in a Twitter thread discussing the changes.
“Ok, you’ll lose a chunk of money if you cash in Spain. But on the plus side: Congratulations, you’re now a highly skilled professional sportsperson, and can feel really good about yourself. Being designated a professional will make it harder to become one. Goodbye Spanish poker.”
All Players Who Cash in Spain Will Pay Taxes
The Spanish government has made it clear that all players will now be taxed on their winnings, including foreigners.
Anyone from an EU member will pay a discounted rate of 19%, but anyone from outside the economic region will pay a hefty 24%.
So, the crack now is that players who actually care about their bottom lines think that poker in Spain is no longer a working proposition as a professional game.
It’s not that long since Spanish chess grandmaster Paco Vallejo Pons found himself with a bill for half a million euros after actually losing money.
In 2011 he tried to make it work and after losing a few thousand euros gave up, thinking he’d never make a proper go of it.
This led to a five-year legal fight with the government which eventually ended in his favour, luckily.
On the positive side, there is also the chance that the new laws will allow amateurs to organise their own events. This could smooth the way to a lot more events being run across the country with no middleman needed.
