In poker, losing can actually help you win in tax court
Last week, the Nantes Administrative Court of Appeal issued a ruling in which it held that a taxpayer who played online poker for ten to fifteen hours a week should not be considered to be engaged in a professional activity subject to taxation on non-commercial profits.
It is based on the taxpayer's gambling results and indicates that the taxpayer lost money gambling from 2010 to 2023, with the exception of one year in which he won a windfall.
The Court therefore held that the player cannot be considered to have overcome the element of chance inherent in poker. The winnings are thus treated as non-taxable gambling winnings.
It thus applies the case law of the Council of State, according to which, to be subject to taxation, a poker player must be considered to "significantly control the element of chance inherent in the game, through the skills and expertise they develop, and derive significant income from it" (Council of State, 10th and 9th Chambers, June 21, 2018, No. 412124, Cited in the tables).
Thus, only poker players who earn significant income and have developed sufficient skill to minimize the element of chance in the game will be subject to taxation. If they have not declared their activity, it could be considered undeclared income. The statute of limitations would then be 10 years, and a penalty of 80% of the evaded taxes may be imposed.