Analysis
DENMARK REPORT
taxes on players’ winnings derived from online poker and casinos. For example, the 2008 World Series of Poker champion was taxed at a 45 per cent rate for the first $4m he won and then a whopping 75% for the remainder of the money leaving him just US$2.5m from total winnings of US$9.1m.
The problem is prizes won via EU licensed operator sites are not taxed however prizes won on non-EU operator sites are taxed with the income tax rate – around 50 per cent. It is thought non-EU companies who want to offer online poker will have to jump through hoops to get on the government’s exclusive non-tax list permitting players to remain untaxed on certain sites.
Hollywood Poker is one such site which has a no-tax status whilst Danske Spil’s upcoming poker venture will have the same privilege. Land based poker tournaments have been permitted under the new draft legislation since January this year. It means that individuals, companies and associations can now apply for
authorisation to arrange public poker tournaments for up to a two year period, enabling them to host tournaments for up to five times a week. Total prize pool will be limited to DKK15,000 with a maximum buy in of DKK300.
Meanwhile the regulation of the gaming sector has been simplified and grouped under the Ministry of Taxation and the regulation and control will now be carried out by the Danish Gaming Board. In the future this could see a positive effect on changes in AWP legislation.
Some operators are talking about possible changes for the AWP sector which could see AWPs not only operated in different locations in the future but the stake could be doubled to DKK1 with a maximum payout of DKK600 whilst also offering DKK4,000 payouts via jackpot games.
However the Danish Ministry of Taxation (Skatteministiet) says there are no concrete plans for any changes. There is also a rumour that VLTs could also begin to enter
G3i I ISSUE 2 I PAGE 69
Although relatively small theDanish gamingmarket is
still a very attractive one and around DKK11bn (around
US$230m) is spent on gambling each yearwhilst state profits amount to
DKK2.8bn ofwhich DKK1.6bn goes to charitable
organisations.
the market in the near future.
One such company interested in the changes in the AWP market is Jack.Pot operations which has some 1,800 AWPs in restaurants and arcades throughout Denmark and its own operations.
Jens Uldall Pedersen of Jack.Pot said: “Previously it was per specifications in the law how the machines should operate and that has been taken out and given to the authority to make the decisions. So we do not need to go to parliament each time to change the specifications.
“This could be a significant change over the next few years. Our machines are very different than those in other European countries. We have no double or features and it is possible now the authorities will look outside of Denmark to see how other machines work. “I think next year the gaming authority will come up with new specifications and we will see some changes that will be very interesting and positive for our industry.”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68