The United Kingdom has birthed some of the best and famous players around the world e.g. Sam Trickett, Roland De Wolfe and Dave Ulliott (Devilfish) but what makes poker popular in the UK? There are a host of reasons why poker stays popular and, in this article, we will offer some reasons. Hopefully, by the end of this post you will know why the UK loves poker.
Loads of Resources
Since the noughties, poker has surged in popularity in cardrooms and online poker sites with Brits. We expect one of the reasons for this is the availability of resources that helps one grasp poker better. In addition to books, there are podcasts, poker shows and poker blogs like free poker tips that offer poker knowledge for free. With this wealth of information, enthusiasts have grasped with both hands.
Social Activity
The UK is a diverse place to live and poker is a great equalizer. It doesn’t care about ethnicity to social status. So, people in cardrooms in London, Brighton and Nottingham come to play and part of the enjoyment is in the social activity. Texas Hold’em is one of Britain’s favourite card games and is played practically every night in brick-and-mortar casinos. You’ll find old regulars and young whippersnappers playing together without issue.
Online Sites
Another reason for UK loving poker is the abundance of online sites made available. Almost all the major sites cater to Brits and this is a huge perk to living in the UK. If you dislike a site or its software, you can easily move to another. It only takes a few minutes and someone in the UK can switch from playing on desktop on PokerStars to a mobile app of Coral. We expect the proliferation of online poker sites and their offering to UK is a good reason poker is popular in UK.
Tax Free Winnings
Nobody likes paying taxes, do they? This is part and parcel of working life. However, unlike many places in the world, UK doesn’t tax people who win from poker. This an awesome advantage to being resident in UK and unquestionably why many people moved over to UK to play professionally. Not having to worry to pay winnings to HMRC is a reason many business owners and self-employed people play socially on weekends. They know that whatever they win goes straight into their back pocket and won’t be taxed. There’s no admin or bookkeeping required and no fees to accountants either. Knowing your winnings are tax free is certainly a reason poker is popular in the UK.
Final Thoughts
So we have four compelling reasons why poker is popular in the UK. The resources making learning poker easier, the social aspect that residents love, the availability of poker sites and the perks of not paying tax on what is won. At the end of the day, UK loves poker and will continue to do so whilst the reasons above are afforded citizens.
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