Europe is home to the largest number of online poker operators in the world and due to the regulations imposed by most EU member countries the market is well regulated and has tons of options for players. On this page we've listed some of the top European poker websites as well as provided a general overview of the Euro market with country specific information as well as tax benefits and other pertinent facts which are relevant to European players. Below you will find our current listings of the best euro poker sites along with bonus information and other key details.
Online Poker in The European Union (EU)
Traditionally most European Governments have taken a pro-gambling stance favouring regulation over prohibition and have thus created a regulated and responsible market enabling their citizens to play safely online. All EU member states have legalized online poker and each country has it's own regulatory body that establishes the rules for various operators and controls licensing and tariffs for access to their market. Because of this, many rooms are licensed within the Euro zone which has a number of advantages for EU residents including favourable taxations laws explained below:
European Commission (EC) and The Taxing Of Poker Winnings
The European Commission is a regulatory body in the EU that deals with commercial transactions between member countries and third party corporations operating within Euro jurisdictions. Thanks to a favourable ruling a few years ago by the EC European poker players are no longer required to pay any tax on winnings as long as the site they are playing at is licensed and regulated within the EU member states. This is obviously a huge benefit to Euro players to avoid double taxation however the caveat to this is that most EU countries will still require federal taxes from players.
Overview of Playing Online Poker from Europe
As we mentioned earlier there are number of benefits to playing at a Euro poker site versus the North American operators since they cater specifically to European residents. Below we've compiled a list of the some of the major positives that EU players can expect when signing up at one of the sites that are listed on this page:
- Currency - One of the biggest advantages of playing at a Euro site is that you will be able to deposit and withdraw in Euros without any foreign currency transactions where you would lose money to commissions. Traditionally most players had to play in US dollars however the growth of Euro rooms has eliminated this issue.
- Depositing/Withdrawing - Another huge benefit is the large number of deposit and withdrawal methods that are available throughout Europe. Since the market is fully regulated there are no restrictions on financial institutions and players are therefore free to use lots of different options like Credit Cards, eWallets and more.
- Languages - Since the European Union includes a number of multi-lingual countries the Euro sites feature fully translated websites and software making it easy for you to play in your mother tongue. Some of the most popular multi-language options including English, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish and many more.
- Euro Friendly Times - The last worthwhile benefit of playing on Euro specific sites is the fact that they will offer European friendly times for tournaments as well as peak times in line with the EU time zones. Historically, Euro players were at the mercy of US time zones making the most popular peak times and tournaments in the middle of the night. Thankfully this is no longer the case with the introduction of European friendly online poker sites.
EU Regulation Process for Online Poker Operators
The two most prominent licensing jurisdictions within the European Union have traditionally been the Gibraltar Gaming Commission as well as the Malta Gaming Commission who have licensed most of the major operators within the industry. While this has historically been all that was required to operate in the Euro market slowly some of the member states are adopting their own regulatory bodies and requiring that operators also obtain a license from them to specifically operate within their borders. Specifically France and Italy now require poker rooms to obtain a country license specifically from them and it looks like Denmark will be soon to follow in early 2012. It's expected that most Euro countries will adopt their own regulations over the coming years and sites will eventually be required to get a license from each country they're in.