If you're in Germany, you're probably left wondering what kind of poker games you're actually allowed to play. Currently, the confusing legal situation in the country is not helping anyone answer that question.
With norms to regulate online poker left in the hands of 16 different Länder (German Federal States) and home games partially allowed after a recent ruling from the German Federal Administrative Court, playing poker in the country that produced champions like Marvin Rettenmaier and 2013 GPI Player of the Year Ole Schemion is far more difficult than one would guess.
Berlin police have released a suspect they believed to have been involved in a much publicized poker robbery last Saturday. They initially believed he and three other men stormed the European. (AP) - Potential community exposure related to confirmed cases of COVID-19 has been identified at Chasers Poker Room and Casino in Salem, the New Hampshire Department of Health. Spielbank Berlin Potsdamer Platz. Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 1, 10785 Berlin, Germany. Tel: +49 30 255 99 210, +49 30 255 99 Visit Web-site ». Spielbank Berlin - Hasenheide, Hasenheide 107-113, 10967 Berlin, Germany. Email info@spielbank-berlin.de, Website: www.spielbank-berlin.de Nearest Airport: Berlin Tegel International Airport (TXL), 10 km Minimum Gaming Age: 18 ID/Passport: Required Entrance Fee: Yes Dress Code: Casual Opening Times: daily from 11.30 am to 03.00 am.
So, while German players keep crushing one international event after another, let's have a quick look at how things work in Europe's largest national economy.
Live poker in Germany: What is allowed, and what isn't?
In Germany, only state casinos are allowed to host poker cash games or tournaments. All sorts of real-money gambling poker outside of casinos (like home games, card clubs, etc.) is forbidden, and police raids of underground games are not unheard of.
There are however a few exceptions: playing for very small stakes in home games is not prosecuted, and sometimes it is also possible to find particular tournaments allowed to be organized by non-state casino hosts.
On Jan. 27, 2014, the German Federal Administrative Court ruled that tournaments with very low buy ins (around €15) do not constitute illegal gambling. This law applies so long as the buy-ins are mainly used to cover the costs of the event and are not redistributed among the players.
Despite the fact it does not refer to events with significant figures, the ruling was widely welcome by Germany’s poker community as the country has a rather vivid scene of those very low buy-in tournaments.
The most prominent host for that kind of events is the PokerBundesliga, a circuit which offers €15 tournaments where the participants can win entries to other tournaments. Their yearly final in Leipzig regularly attracts over 1,000 players.
In Short: Poker in casinos is allowed, low-stakes home games are OK, and low-stakes tournaments are also OK.
Online Poker in Germany: Where things get confusing
It is difficult to have a complete understanding of Germany’s online poker regulation. Part of the confusion stems from the fact that each one of the 16 German Federal States has its own laws regarding online gambling and does not request to work together with the others to build a homogeneous, national system.
What we do know is that 15 of the 16 German states do not allow to for the providing of online poker services, even though none of those 15 different pieces of legislation mention whether it is allowed to play online poker or not.
Up until now no player has ever been prosecuted in Germany for playing online poker, but legal certainty regarding online poker is not provided by the legislation in those 15 states.
Currently, all German states are working on an amendment to the current gambling law, which in its current revision reinforces the strict prohibition of all forms of online gambling with the exception of the federal lottery.
But as the European Court of Justice has already decreed in 2010, that such a broad prohibition is against EU law, it seems likely that this new revision will be overruled once again.
One German Federal State, Schleswig-Holstein, is the only one that tried to differentiate from others and decided to allow both online gambling and sports betting in mid-2011.
Schleswig-Holstein started issuing licenses in early 2012 for some companies to offer online gambling to Schleswig-Holstein residents. Among the first rooms to secure a license from the state are industry leaders PokerStars, 888 and Ladbrokes.
Unfortunately for poker players, right after Schleswig-Holstein passed this online regulation, the state government was voted out of office, and the newly elected governor of Schleswig-Holstein announced his intention to revoke the whole piece of regulation.
All this said, up until now the new state government did not follow through on that announcement, even if the current situation in Schleswig-Holstein is a stalemate since neither players nor providers have any legal certainty that online poker stays legal and regulated in the state.
Berlin Hasenheide Poker Room Games
In short: Providing online gambling is not allowed (with the current exception of Schleswig-Holstein), and playing online is not prosecuted.
Poker’s tax heaven … until you win
In general, poker players do not have to pay taxes in Germany as gambling winnings are non-assessable. Up until 2010 poker was considered a game of chance by the German jurisdiction.
Broadly this still holds true to date, even if Cologne's Financial Court ruled in October 2012 that under certain circumstances revenues generated via poker tournaments are taxable.
In the now famous Eddy-Scharf-Ruling, which forced the two-time WSOP bracelet holder to pay taxes on his winnings as 'they counted as commercial income as they were linked to his personal skills,' the Cologne court decreed that a person who regularly generates income via poker games has to pay regular income taxes on those revenues.
Thus, now many professional poker players reside in Austria or England to avoid having to pay income taxes. For the average casino player the Cologne verdict has no consequences, though, as long as poker is not his main source of income.
In short: As long as poker is not your main source of income, your winnings are not taxable. If you win big, you better live elsewhere.
*Lead photo courtesy of fc02.deviantart.net.
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Full Tilt
Spielbank Berlin offers live poker daily. Poker tournaments are held Monday to Friday at 8pm sharp. Casino has French Roulette and Black Jack table games. Gaming currency is Euro. Visiting Casino Berlin it is not necessary to wear tie or evening dress. Wearing neat casual clothing is accepted. For parking, all cars can use the underground parking below Potsdamer Platz. In the casino there are two bars.
Casino name:
Website:
Email address:
Location:
Spielbank Belin
10785 Berlin 
List of table games:
Do they have sportsbook?:
Slots stakes:
Do they have Keno?:
Do they have live poker?:
Do they have bingo?:
Number of slot machines:
Berlin Hasenheide Poker Room Poker
Types of cash games:
Average number of players on tournaments:
Phone number of the poker room:
Do they run poker tournaments? (What games, what buy-ins, etc.):
Poker tournaments at Potsdamer Platz start at 8pm sharp! Monday
Freeze out tournament - buy in 50 € - start stack 5.000
Tuesday
Bounty tournament - buy in 60 €, (bounty chip 20 € + 40 € prize pool), start stack 5.000
Wednesday - New Freeze out tournament - buy in 40 € - start stack 5.000
Thursday
Rebuy tournament - buy in 20 € - start stack 1.500, rebuy 1.500, add on 3.000, (unlimited rebuys in level 1-3 / one add on)
Friday
Select your stack - New
Freeze out tournament - buy in 40 € - start stack 3.000, buy in 60 € - start stack 7.000 or buy in 80 € - start stack 10.000
Saturday
Doublestack - buy in 100 € - start stack 5.000 + 5.000
Sunday - New
Bigstack - buy in 80 € - start stack 10.000
Poker tournaments at Hasenheide Monday
Freeze out tournament - buy in 30 € - start stack 4.000
Tuesday
Select your stack - New freeze out tournament - buy in 30 € - start stack 4.000 or buy in 50 € - start stack 8.000
Wednesday
Bounty tournament - buy in 40 € - start stack 4.000 (bounty chip 10 € + 30 € prize pool)
Thursday - New
Bigstack - buy in 50 € - start stack 10.000
Friday
Unlimited rebuy tournament - buy in 20 € start stack 2.000 - rebuy 2000 - add on 4000
Saturday
Double stack tournament - buy in 30 € start stack 4.000 + 4.000
Sunday
Unlimited rebuy tournament - buy in 15 € -start stack 2.000 Sit & Go tournaments: Saturday, Sunday 3pm to 6pm
How many cash game tables are running on an average night?:
Is the casino a hotel?:
Internet availability:
Nearby accomodation:
Grand Hyatt Berlin Hotel www.berlin.grand.hyatt.com - Marlene-Dietrich-Platz 2, Berlin - +49 30 2553-1772
The Mandala Hotel - Luxushotel Berlin www.themandala.de - Potsdamer Straße 3, Berlin - +49 30 59005-0000
Ritz-Carlton Hotel Berlin www.ritzcarlton.com - Potsdamer Platz 3, Berlin - +49 30 337777
Scandic Hotel Berlin Potsdamer Platz www.scandichotels.se - Gabriele-Tergit-Promenade 19, Berlin - +49 30 7007790
Berlin Marriott Hotel www.berlinmarriott.de - Inge-Beisheim-Platz 1, Berlin - +49 30 220000
Hotel Adlon Kempinski www.kempinski.com - Unter den Linden 77, Berlin - +49 30 2261-0
Hotel Am Potsdamer Platz www.hotelampotsdamerplatz.de - Potsdamer Straße 82, Berlin - +49 30 2626355
Restaurants/bars in the casino:
POKERFLOOR Bar: 11 am to 04.30am
Baccara Bar: 3pm to 3am
Entry fee:
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Accepted currencies:
How to get there?:
On Marlene-Dietrich-Platz you can find one of the modernest casinos on 4 levels.
by public transport
Walking distance from the following stops:
U+S Bhf. Potsdamer Platz
S-Potsdamer Platz / Voßstr. (Night bus)
U-Bhf. Mendelsohn-Bartholdy Park
Does the casino have a loyalty program?:
Name of loyalty program:
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Opening hours:
Casino Royal: 3pm to 3am
Casino Leger: 11am to 5am
Automatic games: 11am to 3am
Poker Floor: Monday to Friday 7pm to 3am, Saturday and Sunday 3pm to 3am
Closed: Good Friday, All Saints Day, 24 and 25 December