Is internet poker legal in Europe?

Recently the United States government shut down a lot of online poker sites. They have made it very clear that online gambling is not allowed in the US. This has raised questions about whether it is legal in other places. This is particularly true for people who live in Europe where the rules can be hard to understand. So, is online poker legal in Europe or not?

Whether or not internet poker is legal in Europe is going to depend in large part on where you live. It is legal in some countries and not in others. In some places the legality even varies within the country, for example in Germany it is legal in some states and not in others. The result is that you are going to have to check the rules locally to determine if you are in fact allowed to play online poker where you live. The majority of European countries do allow it but by no means do all of them let you play online poker.

For the most part countries in Europe are willing to allow their citizens to play online poker; they have been less keen however on allowing companies to set up online casinos. The vast majority of online casinos are in the UK or the Caribbean because these are the locations where it is easiest to set up an online casino. That being said a lot of countries are looking at the tax revenue that the UK has been able to collect as a result of online poker and they are starting to allow casinos to be set up in their countries as well.

If internet poker is legal where you live you are still going to have to make sure that you are very careful about where you play. The problem is making sure that you play in a casino that is reputable and fair. One of the reasons that so many casinos have been set up on the Caribbean is that the countries in the area don't normally have the resources to enforce any laws. This can be a problem that online poker players have to make sure that they watch out for.

The best way to make sure that you are protected when you play poker online is to play in a casino that is located in the UK. The British government has realized that a strong online gaming industry is good for the economy; they have also realized that the best way to keep the industry strong is to make sure that it is heavily regulated. This will give players confidence that the games are fair. If you live in Europe and you are allowed to gamble online it is almost always a good idea to stick to casinos that are located in the UK.