Noted poker player and writer for the Guardian newspaper, Victoria Coren, took an in depth look at the ramifications caused by the change to British tax laws governing poker.  According to Coren’s article, Britain taxes table games –roulette, craps, etc.—to the fullest, but previously considered poker a service and only charged a Value Added tax (VAT).

However all that changed when the Spring Budget was introduced, effectively putting poker alongside other table games. Unfortunately for poker players, casinos make very little on poker games, and they take up quite a bit of valuable space on the casino floor: The change could very well cause casinos to reconsider hosting poker games, or possibly force a hefty increase in the rake charged.

By changing the way poker games are taxed the British government will gain very little in overall revenue, and is seemingly crippling the brick & mortar poker business.

You can read Victoria Coren’s article from The Guardian here:

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Tags: Gambling laws in Britain, Vicky Coren

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