Official language: Slovak
Population: 5,379,455
Currency: Euro (EUR)

Current Exchange Rate
1 GBP = 1.0681 EUR
1 USD = 0.6754 EUR

Poker in Slovakia
The game of poker has had a brief history in Slovakia. This is due to the recent legalization of gambling in the country. Prior to 1989, all forms of gambling were banned. It has only been during the last few decades that casinos started to emerge. It is at these casinos that Slovakians can enjoy playing poker for money. Poker tables are available at most of the country's 15 casinos.

The popularity of the game is quickly growing as poker receives more and more coverage in the global media. Poker tournaments are slowly starting to emerge which also fuel the game's popularity. In 2008 a four-day tournament in a Bratislava casino brought over 600 players from across Europe with its offering of a €33,200 prize for the best player. Another major annual poker event is the Casinos Slovakia Poker Tour that takes place in the Cafe Redata Casino in Bratislava.

Online Poker in Slovakia
Online poker in Slovakia is growing more slowly. One reason for this is that the local government has not yet sanctioned internet gambling, so there are no online poker sites or other gambling websites coming out of Slovakia. Instead, players who are interested in playing online poker must turn to large, international online poker rooms.

These sites are hosted in other countries, and not all of them accept players from Slovakia. Of those that do, many are only available in English. A select few sites have confessions with the Slovakian government where they pay taxes for the right to offer localized versions of their sites. These special internet poker and casino sites offer their services in the Slovakian languages, making it easy for players to play online poker in Slovakia.