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Legal/Financial advice: moving as a EU resident to make poker income tax free

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myhustle
Joined: 07.03.2009

Hi guys,

Gambling tax is pretty insane in my country and I'm looking for opportunities to make it tax free playing from another country or idealy moving money through it's bank and playing from elsewhere/home if possible.

My situation:

EU passport
31 yo (/w girl and 2 children, not sure how it's relevant, but who knows)
zero official income
basically zero money in any bank in my country (but this is fixable for low 5 figure amounts)
no degree

I'm especially interested in countries that have both poker and crypto tax free. Ones that I know of are: Malta, Gibraltar, Slovenia. Maybe there's more that I've missed. But I'd gladly consider UK (and other only poker tax-free countries) as well, though I'm not sure it would be easier with Brexit and all...

Any tips and advice are welcome. Thanks!


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Axif1
Joined: 19.11.2011

Eastern Europe is the place to go imo. Cheap living and governments don't give a :censored: about poker. Ok, I am in Slovakia and PokerStars got off the market for a year, but they are back. It's unregulated and tax free.

Czech republic has regulations, so it's a no go.

Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Ukraine, Russia, Romania... it should be pretty similar. And if you are flexible you can just rent a place for some time and if the situation changes you move elsewhere.

Or you can still play on poker apps, they should be available everywhere (don't have an experience with this).

Also depends if you don't mind the cold weather. If you want to have as cheap living as possible... You can check some websites where you will find a costs of living.

I am curious, where do you come from? Belgium? Or Scandinavia?


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myhustle
Joined: 07.03.2009

I'm inbetween - Latvia. I'm looking to be able to show completely legal money, this would require me to open up a bank account for example in Slovakia and deposit/withdraw money from/to that bank account. So that later I can do whatever I want with it.

Currently I don't know how this can be done, what are the prerequisites and whether I'll be required to stay in that country and for how long.

If anyone has done this, I'd be very grateful for this info here or in PM.


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Axif1
Joined: 19.11.2011

Why not to use eWallets? You can withdraw e.g. to Neteller and send the clear money to your bank account.

Also, there are online banks like: Revolut, N26 (don't know how it works with sending the poker money there).

Btw, how's the tax situation in Latvia? And what about Estonia or Lithuania?

Let's see what others have to say, I am quite curious.


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myhustle
Joined: 07.03.2009

Originally posted by Axif1
Why not to use eWallets? You can withdraw e.g. to Neteller and send the clear money to your bank account.

Also, there are online banks like: Revolut, N26 (don't know how it works with sending the poker money there).

Btw, how's the tax situation in Latvia? And what about Estonia or Lithuania?

Let's see what others have to say, I am quite curious.

Money that comes from ewallets is NOT "clear" money. Banks will report that to tax authorities and they'll inquire where you got that from...

Estonia has no gambling tax. I'm also interested in this option. Lithuania I'm not sure, 15%? It's def not tax-free. Latvia has 23% from winnings that are more than 3k and less than 55k EUR and 31.4% if more. And that's winnings, by winnings they mean withdrawals, so if you deposited 10k, lost 5k, deposited 5k more and than withdrew you'd still pay tax from that 7k (10k-3k). And you can play only on licensed sites which are GG and maybe Ipoker. So very, very bad.

Maybe you know about what it takes to get a residence permit and a bank account in Slovakia, so that you can declare your winnings?


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UPAY4DINNER
Joined: 28.09.2009

UK is massively regulated by UKGC would be the nut worse place to go.


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myhustle
Joined: 07.03.2009

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
UK is massively regulated by UKGC would be the nut worse place to go.

How so? You can play on most major sites as a UK resident, no? And there's no gambling tax in UK. So how is it a nut worst place to go, besides weather and prices?


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Axif1
Joined: 19.11.2011

Originally posted by myhustle

Money that comes from ewallets is NOT "clear" money. Banks will report that to tax authorities and they'll inquire where you got that from...

Estonia has no gambling tax. I'm also interested in this option. Lithuania I'm not sure, 15%? It's def not tax-free. Latvia has 23% from winnings that are more than 3k and less than 55k EUR and 31.4% if more. And that's winnings, by winnings they mean withdrawals, so if you deposited 10k, lost 5k, deposited 5k more and than withdrew you'd still pay tax from that 7k (10k-3k). And you can play only on licensed sites which are GG and maybe Ipoker. So very, very bad.

Maybe you know about what it takes to get a residence permit and a bank account in Slovakia, so that you can declare your winnings?

Idk, is gambling also taxed? How would they know whether you won it at poker or slot machines?

Not sure what you need in order to make an bank account here. But as a European citizen, it should not be a problem.

Problem is, that apartmens are frigging expensive here... I don't get it. For example just a simple room in a mid-sized city would cost 200 EUR. That's insane, because people don't earn much money here.

So it's regulated and they track the poker sites, right? That sux... Yeah, either stay in your region, which should be quite similar to your culture. But hey, we Eastern Europeans are very similar

Maybe Budapest would be a good idea, too. You can play pretty much on every room and nobody gives a faq about poker winnings.

I still don't understand how do they track eWallets. Anyway, there must be some way how to faq them over I mean, why would anyone tax the gamble? But whatever, that's for another discussion.

Also, you should consider what language people speak in that country and so on... If you don't care I would just go to Albania or some other very cheap country.

Or live in airbnb's and grind like a boss. Yeah, it's different when you have a family. You gotta do some compromises.

If you clarify your goals, maybe people can help you in a better way.


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Super Moderator
VorpalF2F
Joined: 02.09.2010

Originally posted by UPAY4DINNER
UK is massively regulated by UKGC would be the nut worse place to go.

"nut worse" Love it!


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cesures
Joined: 08.07.2021

The UK is for point system entry. They are not segregated, so a good place to play in, but likely needs a profession in need or so to get in.

Ireland, some small cheap city, as Dublin is massively expensive, and some other cities there are also quite costly. No to low gambling taxes (that's often not the case inside the EU), free world as it is now, so the sites are international at this time.

English helps. Permanent residence to nationality in five years (EU). It is necessary to have a rich enough western country as one retires at some point, until one gets back to where one left. Also, salary, if going in a cheap country, is best to be earned before moving in there. While moving from a cheap country to a richer one, is an opportunity if one gets work, and then one can retire early, if earning there 20+ years first, then move (back) to a cheap country. India is cheap, but getting a residence can be difficult, and they are segregated. Going out every 6 months is a close possibility, some multivisa might be good for five years.

Spain is good for live play, especially Madrid, just taxes, while the immigration depends on getting a flat, and then registering there that has some issues together with getting a bank account, but they accept any regular incomes, including, as far as i read, whatever you monthly deposit yourself on your bank account. In Ireland and UK they rate to ask more or less nothing (no reason), just register. Spain is segregated pretty much, so it is Winamax, maybe some Asian sites, Pokerstars.es, with a rake that's at least 5% €3 cap, though might get 5% rakeback, so Spain is mainly for live poker, that's 20-30 hands per hour compared to e.g. 400-1k hands per hour online, and the casinos might be closed because of the viruses.

Austria is possible, but they are negatively regulated (but not segregated) as they tax the sites a lot, and taxes from winnings after some 10k or so start, and getting a flat can be a bit difficult in Vienna at least. Not an expensive country, or even a city. They have live poker too, but the rake can be a bit high, as it might be with a mandatory tip, and smoking might still be allowed. Not sure how they deal with the EU immigrants if it is a plug and play or are there some residential issues. In all country cases, one might be required to have a full private insurance (100 to 200 euros per month, the latter if old) if not employed. In all countries, one does not sign in as self-employed gambler as it means taxes, and up to double taxes. Just a gambler who has money is fine.


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Super Moderator
VorpalF2F
Joined: 02.09.2010

Originally posted by cesures
The UK is for point system entry. They are not segregated, so a good place to play in, but likely needs a profession in need or so to get in.

Hi cesures,
Welcome to PokerStrategy.com :welcome:

You seem reasonably well informed, perhaps you could take a moment to introduce yourself? Let us know what games you like and maybe a bit about yourself.

Cheers,
VS


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