Relocating to Montenegro as a Poker Player: Pros and Cons

The Status of Poker in Montenegro

Poker and other gambling have been permitted in the country since gaining independence in 2006. 

Gambling entertainment is a significant source of revenue for the country with a population of 623,000. 

In 2025, Montenegro updated its legislation. In the new version:

• advertising of gambling was banned from 06:00 to 22:00;

• the annual fee for casinos was increased to €100,000;

• mandatory player verification was implemented;

• stricter penalties for minors participating in games were prescribed.

There are 5 casinos operating in the country: Casino Pasha, Merit Casino Royal Splendid, Maestrale Resort & Casino, Queen Casino Falkensteiner, Casino Avala. All are located in the resort town of Budva and its surroundings. Montenegro regularly hosts stages of international series: Eurasian Poker Tour, Triton Poker, Merit Poker. 

Online poker in the country is not heavily regulated. The legislation requires mandatory licensing for rooms. However, only 888Poker has issued local permits. Other platforms have maintained their offshore status. Montenegro doesn't have a local version of Roskomnadzor — providers don't restrict access to poker sites. 

Residents of the country are not accepted by: PokerStars, partypoker, Guts, and Unibet. Some platforms prohibit players from entering the client from outside their country. These include: POKEROK, Natural8, and Winamax. A Russian resident will not be able to play poker on POKEROK while vacationing in Montenegro.

Taxes for Poker Players in Montenegro

There is no need to pay tax on winnings from online poker. Local legislation does not recognize online gaming as a source of income. Income from live poker, however, is taxed under the standard income tax rate. Winnings up to €700 are not taxed. Income from €701 to €1,500 is taxed at 15%. Winnings over €1,501 are taxed at 23%. The establishment withholds the amount — players do not file declarations. 

In 2025, Aleksa Pavicevic won over $6,000,000 in the Triton Series tournament. More than $1,380,000 went to the country's budget.

In 2026, the Montenegrin Ministry of Finance introduced a progressive tax rate on winnings. From 1 January 2026, prizes from €50 to €1,500 will be taxed at 10%. Larger winnings are taxed at 15%. The new scale applies to bookmakers and lotteries. However, casinos were not included under the new rules. Nonetheless, deterioration in conditions for poker players cannot be ruled out.

Which Rooms Accept Players from Montenegro

Most online poker rooms operate in Montenegro, including: GGPoker, RedStar Poker, 888Poker, WPT Global, CoinPoker, PokerKing. Let's discuss them in more detail.

GGPoker. The leading room in the industry. Operating since 2014. The platform’s legal status is ensured by the Isle of Man licence. In the evening hours, it gathers up to 400,000 players online. GGPoker dominates through: two welcome offers for beginners, record rake races in all types of poker, huge jackpots, and excellent software. In September 2020, the room entered the Guinness World Records book thanks to a tournament with a guarantee of $27,559,500. In 2024, GGPoker acquired the WSOP brand for $500,000,000.

Every day, the room organises over 1,000 poker tournaments. Most MTTs follow NL Holdem rules. Around 10% of the schedule is dedicated to PLO events. GGPoker also leads in tournament series prize pools. In 2025, the platform hosted the GG World Championship festival with a $250,000,000 guarantee. Among regular MTTs, GGMillion$ with a $2,000,000 prize pool and a $10,000 buy-in stands out. From autumn 2025, the room organizes a weekly freeroll with a $100,000 guarantee.

RedStar Poker. One of the main poker rooms of the iPoker network. Launched in 2005, Red Star Poker is licensed by Curaçao. During peak times, the room sees over 10,000 players at the tables. Advantages of RedStar include: a first deposit bonus of 200% up to $2,000, a straightforward loyalty program with rakeback up to 35%, daily leaderboards for Twister players, and satellites to European festivals.

Every day RedStar Poker holds several hundred tournaments. Almost all MTTs follow no-limit hold'em rules. The room does not organize major series. The guarantee of local festivals rarely exceeds €5,000,000. In the most expensive regular tournament, RedStar Poker puts up €45,000. Freerolls are not a strong point of RedStar. The prize pool of free MTTs does not exceed €25.

888Poker is more suitable for beginner tournament players. The room holds many freerolls and MTTs with affordable buy-ins.

888Poker. A popular bookmaker launched its poker division in 2002. 888Poker is the only room with a Montenegro licence. In recent years, the online presence of 888Poker has fallen to a few thousand. The platform’s benefits include: a first deposit bonus of 100% up to $1,000, a good ratio of prizes to participants in MTTs, and a no deposit bonus. New players receive $8.8 in free tickets.

888Poker organizes over 100 tournaments daily. NL Holdem dominates the schedule. Significant festivals are not conducted by 888Poker. The room rarely allocates more than $2,000,000 for a series. However, the brand focuses on freerolls. The Freerolls Festival promotion allows daily participation in free tournaments with decent prizes.

WPT Global. A poker room from the owners of the famous live festival series World Poker Tour. The platform debuted in 2022. In three years, WPT Global broke into the top 3 by the player count. Room advantages include: a welcome offer of $3,348, user-friendly software, and satellites to World Poker Tour stages. 

WPT Global offers an extensive MTT schedule. Almost all tournaments on the platform are played with NL Holdem rules. The room also hosts decent festivals. For example, in March 2026, WPT Global organized the Asia Series with a $15,000,000 guarantee. The room’s schedule also includes free MTTs, with participation often requiring knowledge of a password published on many poker-related sites. Occasionally, WPT Global organizes impressive free series, such as the $2,000,000 freeroll festival in October 2025.

CoinPoker. A leading cryptocurrency room in the industry, which started in 2017. The brand’s legal status is ensured by an Anjouan licence. Platform advantages include: a first deposit bonus of 150% up to $2,000, world championships in cash games, and the chance to secure a professional contract in the CoinMasters promotion. In 2022, the largest pot in online poker history was played on CoinPoker; the hand winner took home $7,750,652.

In honour of the launch of the revamped client, CoinPoker announced the Level Up Series festival with zero commission. At the end of the month, the room refunded the rake to the players.

The regular tournament schedule suits players of low and mid-stakes. There are many events with buy-ins from $1 to $25 in the lobby. More expensive tournaments can be found during online festivals like the Coin Series of Online Poker. In 2024, the platform hosted the CSOP with a $25,000,000 guarantee. The room also organizes freerolls with prize pools of $25-$30.

PokerKing. Part of the Winning Poker Network. Operates under a Curaçao licence. The platform was launched in 2011. Main strengths of the room include: a first deposit bonus of 100% up to $2,000, a VIP system with rakeback up to 85%-90%, and support for multitabling up to 24 tables. Also noteworthy is the platform's versatility: Pokerking offers clients on all popular operating systems.

Every day, the room organizes several hundred tournaments. No-limit Texas hold'em dominates the lobby. Pokerking hosts some of the most expensive festivals online. Series guarantees reach $50,000,000-$60,000,000. The Venom event is held several times a year, with a prize pool reaching up to $10,000,000. The tournament champion receives upwards of $1,000,000. At the end of 2025, a weekly Phil's Thrill was added to the lobby. It became the most expensive event in the lobby, with an MTT entry of $10,300.

What Live Series Occur in the Country

Montenegro regularly hosts local festivals and major tournament series. The country has organised stages of: the World Poker Tour, Eurasian Poker Tour, Triton Poker. The Russian Poker Tour has also visited Montenegro several times. Let's discuss the most interesting festivals:

• Merit Poker Montenegro Championship. Held from 13 to 25 January 2026 at the Splendid Conference & Spa hotel. The series prize pool exceeded €1,000,000. In the Main Event, €500,000 was contested. The series schedule included 15 tournaments. Entry to the most affordable events cost €100. Simultaneously, cash games were played in the casino with limits from NL500 to NL10000.

• Triton Series. Series stages are regularly held in Montenegro. As of March 2026, the country had hosted the festival six times. In 2025, the series was held at Maestral Resort & Casino. Jesse Loins won the Main Event and $3,393,656. Aleksa Pavicevic claimed the title in a $200,000 buy-in tournament, adding over $6,000,000 in prizes. The most expensive tournament series will again visit Montenegro in 2026. 

Triton is Montenegro's flagship series. Its prize pool surpasses most competitors.

Between large festivals, local casinos host local series. The current schedule can be found on the websites of Splendid, Maestral, and other casinos. Announcements are also published on the establishments' social media accounts.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Moving to Montenegro

Benefits of Montenegro include:

• Legal status of poker. To play, simply visit one of Budva’s casinos. In Russia, poker is banned outside of four gambling zones. 

• No local RCN blocks rooms. Montenegrin regulatory bodies and internet providers do not restrict the operation of online platforms. In Russia, accessing POKEROK or another room's site becomes increasingly difficult each year.

• Good climate. During the coldest winter days, the temperature rarely drops below +10. Warmer in other seasons: spring averages around +16, summer — +25, autumn — +20. Wearing a parka for 5-6 months is not a risk for Montenegrin residents.

• Nature. The Adriatic Sea and mountains break up the routine of poker sessions. 

• Compactness. The journey from anywhere in the country to a casino takes only a few hours. In Russia, the trip to the nearest gambling establishment can be stretched over days.

Drawbacks of relocation include:

• Documents. Russian citizens are allowed to stay in Montenegro for up to 30 days. Local legislation allows for doubling the duration through a visa run. Further stay requires a residence permit. The simplest way to obtain residency is by registering a legal entity, costing €3,000-€4,000 in total.

• Monotony. The “heart” of live poker in Montenegro is Budva, a city with a population of 20,000. A week of walks and you've explored Budva thoroughly. Life in a local town may not suit everyone. The nation's capital — Podgorica, with 150,000 residents, is livelier, but the contrast is not monumental. 

• Rent. Since 2022, rental prices have doubled. Long-term accommodation starts at €600 per month. The price of accommodation is significantly higher in summer.

Air travel is not a plus either. There is no direct connection between Russia and Montenegro. You need to make a transfer everywhere. 

How to Learn to Play Poker

For a beginner poker player, moving to Montenegro is challenging. A plane ticket, renting accommodation, arranging residency — it all requires money. To build a strong bankroll and afford relocation, one must work on oneself and improve their skill level. There are many ways to learn poker: attending training courses, reading books, discussing hands with other players, and analysing hands with software. The abundance of resources can sometimes be detrimental. Most players learn chaotically, which slows down progress.

The FF Start program is a step towards a systematic approach. The course helps to lay a strong foundation for future success. Students in FF Start are introduced to: poker mathematics, types of opponents, strategy for playing at the final table and with a short stack. Embark on a professional journey with FF.