Danish Poker Players Owe $3 Million Dollars In Tax

Thirty poker players in Denmark owe the local tax authority over $3 million dollars (20 million kroner) after failing to declare their winnings.  As a result, SKAT (the Danish equivilant of the IRS), has issued a set of guidelines to educate poker players about their responsibility to file income tax returns on their winnings.

Most Poker winnings In Denmark are taxable although there are a few exceptions. If the money was won in another EU or EEA country it is tax free as long as the poker room has secured a gaming licence from the relevant state authority in that country.  For instance, all winnings at PartyPoker.com are treated as exempt from taxation as it is a EU poker operator.

Last year Danish citizen Peter Eastgate won the World Series Of Poker Main Event and picked up the first prize of $9,152,416.  Unfortunately for Eastgate, high-income earners are required to pay over 70% income tax which would have left him with just $2.5 million of his winnings.