POKER POPULAR IN GERMANY
11 April 2008
Up to 290 000 poker fans enjoy the game
Deutsche Welle reports that the game of poker is
enjoying growing popularity in Germany, with between 200
000 and 290 000 Germans regularly playing on the
Internet. In 2006, it was estimated that players spent
around Euro 1 million gambling online.
The publication explains that in Germany, it's only
legal to gamble for money in casinos, leaving the
booming Internet market in a grey area. If it involves
money, online gambling is against the law, but so far no
one has been charged with the crime. Game providers'
servers are located in Gibraltar, Malta and even the
Seychelles, making questions of jurisdiction difficult
for prosecutors to address.
Germany's tax authorities have a monopoly on the
gambling business in the country and pocket more than
half of the general gambling industry's earnings as
corporate tax. Online gambling, however, remains
unregulated and profits circumvent state coffers.
The report goes on to comment on the involvement in
promoting poker of high profile celebrities such as
former world tennis ace Boris Becker and surgeon turned
international poker pro Michael Keiner, who first caught
the bug 15 years ago whilst at a conference in the US.
He was fascinated by the variety of skills needed, the
psychological aspects of the game and the mind-boggling
sums that changed hands.
Gambling addiction is also discussed, with psychologist
Tobias Hayer from the University of Bremen opining that
online poker has considerably lowered the threshold for
compulsive gambling. "There's no social monitoring
anymore," Hayer said.
Online Casino News courtesy of
InfoPowa
More news here.
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