Poker/Gambling Consulting Company

[kaya7]

Hey,

I’d really appreciate your input.

I run a consulting business where poker players pay a percentage of their profits in exchange for consulting.

What type of business entity and jurisdiction would be ideal for this type of business?

What if some of the players’ profits comes from unregulated sites and is paid out with crypto?

Thank you.

 

[EliasIT]

Where do you live?

What is the goal ?

What if some of the players’ profits comes from unregulated sites and is paid out with crypto?

let them pay in to an exchange and hope you're account don't get closed.

 

[kaya7]

Hey,

I’m a resident of Thailand.

The goal is to set up the business in a way that minimizes taxes and stays compliant with gambling laws.

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

As this can be equated with investment consulting it may fall within a regulated framework. Therefore how you present it may be paramount. For example a fixed fee rather than a % fee could make a difference. Not keeping any of clients funds in custody obviously important. Just check these things as also if banks feel like you could be conducting a regulated activity you could face account opening rejections.

 

[kaya7]

Some poker sites use a combination of a gaming license from Curaçao and a payment processor in Cyprus.

Assuming my business doesn’t fall within a regulated framework, which country is known to be favorable for this type of business?

 

[cuno]

As you can see from the slow response, there is no real answer to it. If it is unregulated you can open any company, for instant New Mexico LLC and open a mercury bank account or Wise or similar.

 

[daniels27]

Where are the players from? Are they paying taxes themselves? If yes, under what agreement or contract are they supposed to pay you? If no, how are they supposed to pay you? Can you take crypto from them and all is good?

 

[kaya7]

Players from all over the world participate.

Some of them pay income tax, but the majority either don’t have to pay any or live in jurisdictions where poker is in a grey area.

The students I currently coach haven’t signed any official contracts. it’s all based on trust and building relationships over time.

‘Can you take crypto?’

That’s something I’m curious about as well. While I’m not directly participating in gambling on unregulated sites, some of my commission would come from this source.

 

[daniels27]

If you are not subject to taxation, you do the following for those that do not pay tax:

You take crypto from all those that get paid in crypto.
You take money from the others either to you personal account if the total amount it small or to a Wyoming company's account otherwise. You can also take cash paid into your personal account in the country of you students.

For those that pay tax, I suggest they pay it and they pay you your share minus their tax on it as above. You could try to get them to deduct it from taxes. But then their government will most likely check the validity of the deduction and find that either:

• You have not paid VAT on the amount
• It is subject to withholding tax as it either is priced from winnings or royalties
• You are illegally doing regulate business in their jurisdictions (see above)
• Check with the Thai tax guys on you

All of which you do not want. Just let them pay you in small amounts, like 4000 USD or less. Just ensure not to be subject to their jurisdiction's gift tax.

 

[Don]

Hey,

I’d really appreciate your input.

I run a consulting business where poker players pay a percentage of their profits in exchange for consulting.

What type of business entity and jurisdiction would be ideal for this type of business?

What if some of the players’ profits comes from unregulated sites and is paid out with crypto?

Thank you.

An unincorporated partnership would probably be most suitable.
It could be managed by an Estonia company.
Players would pay tax based on their personal tax residency.
Its also not a bad choice if players would change their residency to Estonia since poker winnings are tax free in Estonia. Many poker players have moved to Estonia because of this.

 

[diro]

An unincorporated partnership would probably be most suitable.

What does it mean ?

 

[daniels27]

What does it mean ?

It depends on the jurisdiction but it basically is an association/partnership. You most often are personally liable for any losses and act on behalf of the partnership. You can check some details here
https://www.acnc.gov.au/for-chariti...ty/who-can-apply-be-registered/unincorporated
While it is easy to setup, most likely the winnings will be attributed to the individual rather than the association tax-wise. Hence better make sure they are in a favourable jurisdiction.

 

[Don]

What does it mean ?

It's basically a simple contract with no registration anywhere...but can at times still open payment or bank accounts
it's not a legal entity, so it's often treated as tax transparent.
It can be beneficial in some cases for the poker player to present his income as "income from partnership" rather than "gambling winnings."

 

[diro]

It's basically a simple contract with no registration anywhere...but can at times still open payment or bank accounts
it's not a legal entity, so it's often treated as tax transparent.
It can be beneficial in some cases for the poker player to present his income as "income from partnership" rather than "gambling winnings."

Thank you now I understand it is a way to camouflage your real activity.