Is the UK the best place for gamblers?
October 6th, 2012 at 6:17:29 AM
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I'm a Brit, so of course I'm biased but I'm always surprised that we have seem to have more 'free' laws regarding gambling compared America (which likes to promote it's self as a country of 'freedom').
In the UK there is no ban on online poker, there are no taxes or commission paid on bets or winnings, no weird rules over betting on sports that the US seem to have.
Call me cynical but when I look at US gambling laws they seem to be in place to protect the Las Vegas tourist industry, especially when you look at online casinos and the restrictions placed on them.
Thoughts?
In the UK there is no ban on online poker, there are no taxes or commission paid on bets or winnings, no weird rules over betting on sports that the US seem to have.
Call me cynical but when I look at US gambling laws they seem to be in place to protect the Las Vegas tourist industry, especially when you look at online casinos and the restrictions placed on them.
Thoughts?
October 6th, 2012 at 7:40:50 AM
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Quote: estebanreythere are no taxes or commission paid on bets or winnings
you can make a living as a gambler and pay no income tax?
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!” She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
October 6th, 2012 at 8:13:00 AM
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Quote: odiousgambityou can make a living as a gambler and pay no income tax?
You pay no tax on gambling winnings in the UK. What happens if its your sole source of income depends if you provide a service or trade to another person. If you only place bets, you will not pay income tax on the winnings.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
October 6th, 2012 at 8:26:15 AM
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Quote: odiousgambityou can make a living as a gambler and pay no income tax?
Correct.
It was the case years ago tate tax was charged on bets (you had decide whether to pay it on the stake or the winnings) but the gambling industry complained that this was destroying the industry so they removed it.
If you can make a living from gambling in the UK, you do indeed pay zero income tax.
Quote:United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, wins (unless in the course of a trade) are not taxable and losses are not deductible.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_and_gambling_losses#United_Kingdom
October 6th, 2012 at 8:42:51 AM
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In the US it bothers me that you have to pay income tax even on patently negative expectation games... for example, if you have a big slot win, you will have to pay taxes, even though clearly in the long run everyone loses money at slots.
Yeah, I know you can deduct losses, but you have to satisfy the vultures you have kept good records. And then there is the guy who won on new year's eve and hadn't played much during the year, and similar scenarios.
I refuse to play any game where I might get the W-2G.
Yeah, I know you can deduct losses, but you have to satisfy the vultures you have kept good records. And then there is the guy who won on new year's eve and hadn't played much during the year, and similar scenarios.
I refuse to play any game where I might get the W-2G.
the next time Dame Fortune toys with your heart, your soul and your wallet, raise your glass and praise her thus: “Thanks for nothing, you cold-hearted, evil, damnable, nefarious, low-life, malicious monster from Hell!” She is, after all, stone deaf. ... Arnold Snyder
October 6th, 2012 at 5:13:25 PM
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What happens with the lottery and gameshows, do you have to pay tax on those winnings too? In Britain, lottery presenters and gameshow hosts like to say things like "you can win £100,000 tax free"
October 6th, 2012 at 5:33:28 PM
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Last edited by: sodawater on Oct 1, 2018
October 6th, 2012 at 5:42:30 PM
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Quote: estebanreyCall me cynical but when I look at US gambling laws they seem to be in place to protect the Las Vegas tourist industry, especially when you look at online casinos and the restrictions placed on them.
Thoughts?
Very perceptive. For example, a few years ago the congress passed a law banning sports betting in this country--except for places where it was already legal, which is basically just Nevada.
Vote for Nobody 2020!
October 9th, 2012 at 5:41:20 PM
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I hit a jackpot at about 10:45 P.M. on New Year's Eve once. Yes, it was a taxable. I ended up paying no income tax on it anyway 'cause I was a broke student at the time.Quote: odiousgambit
Yeah, I know you can deduct losses, but you have to satisfy the vultures you have kept good records. And then there is the guy who won on new year's eve and hadn't played much during the year, and similar scenarios.
"Dice, verily, are armed with goads and driving-hooks, deceiving and tormenting, causing grievous woe." -Rig Veda 10.34.4
October 11th, 2012 at 10:54:22 AM
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I agree with you, in the UK there is no ban on on-line on the internet texas holdem, there are no taxation or percentage compensated on wagers or profits, no strange guidelines over gambling on activities that the US seem to have.
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gold coast private rentals
October 11th, 2012 at 11:15:56 AM
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Plus I assume you can bet with bookmakers at the track and are not restricted to just the parimutuel pools ?
October 11th, 2012 at 11:40:04 AM
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Quote: buzzpaffPlus I assume you can bet with bookmakers at the track and are not restricted to just the parimutuel pools ?
I can do that on the high street (Main Street, he translates) as well. Sit in a shop all day and watch all the action. Can be grubby little places, but some aren't too bad at all.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
October 11th, 2012 at 12:15:53 PM
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Do they still have tracks spread out all over the UK like in Dick Francis books. Maryland used to have the big tracks, Bowie Laurel and
Pimlico running long meets and in the summer it was Timonium, Bel Air, Cumberland and Havre de Grace.
Bowie is gone, pimlici and laurel stumble on with funds from the casinos taxes. . Among the half-mile tracks, only Timonium survived, and runs 10 days along with the state fair.
Pimlico running long meets and in the summer it was Timonium, Bel Air, Cumberland and Havre de Grace.
Bowie is gone, pimlici and laurel stumble on with funds from the casinos taxes. . Among the half-mile tracks, only Timonium survived, and runs 10 days along with the state fair.
October 11th, 2012 at 1:14:12 PM
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There's sixty race courses in the UK. I've been to a fair few, and do miss a trip every couple of months to watch the GG's run. Sandown Park and Cheltenham being favourites, but good days at Fakenham, Windsor and Kempton have been had.
I have no idea how well they do these days, but was still a vibrant scene five years ago. Sit on train with the Racing Post, mark up your cards, have a beer in the stands... life was good.
I have no idea how well they do these days, but was still a vibrant scene five years ago. Sit on train with the Racing Post, mark up your cards, have a beer in the stands... life was good.
"Then you can admire the real gambler, who has neither eaten, slept, thought nor lived, he has so smarted under the scourge of his martingale, so suffered on the rack of his desire for a coup at trente-et-quarante" - Honore de Balzac, 1829
October 11th, 2012 at 1:52:16 PM
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SIXTY ! Damn, and Switch won't let me hide in his baggage. Damn
Used to ride the train from Baltimore to Charlestown in the old days. They would move back post time for the first race if the train was late.
Once the train wrecked and the track only knew about it when the bloody punters walked to the track.
English transladtion " bloody" meant covered in blood. No idea what the bloody English mean by bloody.
Did likerthat bloody good TV Series " Are you being served / " Had a crush on PENNY !
Used to ride the train from Baltimore to Charlestown in the old days. They would move back post time for the first race if the train was late.
Once the train wrecked and the track only knew about it when the bloody punters walked to the track.
English transladtion " bloody" meant covered in blood. No idea what the bloody English mean by bloody.
Did likerthat bloody good TV Series " Are you being served / " Had a crush on PENNY !
October 11th, 2012 at 2:08:52 PM
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DUHHIIIIIIIII HEARD THAT!
