What kind of taxation exists for international bookmakers?

How does taxation of winnings work?

If you regularly win at games that involve strategy, you’ll immediately be considered a professional player because it’s your skill that helps you win money and you’ll have to declare this income.

The law is more vague concerning sports and horse racing betting because you will not be considered a professional player. Nevertheless, if win regularly, it would be better to declare them. If you’re clever you don’t have to do it at all (especially with a Skrill or Neteller account, neither your bank nor the government will know about your cash flow; on the other hand, these accounts have an annual limit of 35,000 euros and so you’ll have to open several accounts to cash out)

It’s important to note that in terms of the law, this practice is considered as money laundering, and if you were to get caught, you would then be charged. If this option doesn’t work for you, you could also create a micro-business, as a professional player, in order to cash out should your winnings begin to accumulate.

How to declare earnings from foreign betting operators

Whether you’re playing with a domestic or foreign bookmaker, it all comes down to the same thing. It would be better for you, if you’re a professional player, to declare your winnings. You will not be risking anything by declaring any income earned by gambling with an unlicensed dealer. In fact, you won’t even have to specify where you received your winnings; but during a tax audit you can confirm a specific source (whether it’s from betting or poker) and you will then be in accordance with the law.

Remember that you’re not breaking the law by gambling with an offshore dealer, it’s the bookmaker who is breaking the law. They are always at risk of losing their GRAI licence, if they have one, in addition to their international site, or they may face a large fine if they do not have one. Conversely, players can walk away with their hands clean!

On the other hand, there’s no need to worry as far as betting is concerned; go ahead and cash out as you see fit. It would be useful, if you’re both a punter and you play circle games, to set up two separate accounts for withdrawing your winnings in order to simplify things when you do your taxes. If you’re a poker player and an exceptional punter, you can choose to declare everything, and if you’re veteran gambler and you sometimes play poker, you can safely decide not to declare anything. But if the two activities occupy all your time, then be careful to keep the two separate so that you’ll be unimpeachable during an audit.