EU VAT Directive Claims a Victim as PokerStars.Fr Exits Austrian Market
Key Takeaways
  • PokerStars.fr has informed players resident in Austria that they can no longer play at the French regulated site. PokerStars explained that the decision had been taken to avoid paying gambling duties to both the French and Austrian governments.
  • The specific tax which PokerStars France began paying on its Austrian players on January 1 this year is the VAT—sales tax—resulting from the EU VAT Directive which came into force exactly a year before.

PokerStars.fr has informed players resident in Austria that they can no longer play at the French regulated site. PokerStars explained that the decision had been taken to avoid paying gambling duties to both the French and Austrian governments.