Guardia di Finanza identifies more than €1.3m in undeclared poker winnings
Regulation2 min read
In brief
- Italy's Guardia di Finanza says a poker player failed to declare more than €1.3m in winnings.
- The force says the player's 2023 move to Malta was fictitious and he remained tax resident in Italy.
- The player has been referred to the Bologna prosecutor's office over alleged failure to declare income.
- The winnings were made at gambling houses outside the European Union, the force said.
Italy's Guardia di Finanza said its Bologna unit identified more than €1.3m in undeclared poker winnings held by a player it considers resident in Italy for tax purposes. The player has been referred to the Bologna prosecutor's office over alleged failure to declare income, according to the force.
The Guardia di Finanza said the player, described as one of the world's leading live poker players, moved his residence to Malta from 2023 and registered with the Anagrafe degli Italiani Residenti all'Estero (AIRE). Investigators concluded the move was fictitious and aimed at keeping the proceeds of his sporting activity, carried out habitually and professionally, outside Italian tax, the force said.
According to the force, the player kept a home in the Bologna hinterland, maintained family ties in Italy and operated national bank accounts fed by regular flows of money from abroad. Phone records obtained in the criminal investigation indicated he kept his tax domicile in Italy for most of the tax period, exceeding the 183-day threshold set by law, the force said.
The force said the player was therefore treated as tax resident in Italy and required to declare his income there. The winnings at issue were made at gambling houses located outside the European Union, it said.
The Guardia di Finanza linked the case to its work on fictitious foreign residences, which it said divert resources from the state budget. The source gives no response from the player and no further step in the case.