PokerStars has become the first licensed online poker operator to enter the newly regulated Czech iGaming market, as the brand itself confirmed today. The popular poker room has been granted a Live Games license by the local gambling regulator on January 28.
The license allows PokerStars to provide local players with the opportunity to enter its international cash game and tournament pools and to play a number of popular casino games, including blackjack and roulette, across desktop and mobile.
New gambling regulations came into force in the Czech Republic on January 1, 2017. Foreign operators will now have to apply for a license from the Czech State Supervision of Gambling and Lotteries Department in order to be allowed to operate in the country.
However, the local branch of international NGO Transparency International has reported recently that a certain number of unlicensed operators have been providing their services to Czech customers without being taken proper action against. It is still unknown whether regulators have acted to curb the issue after TI’s report. However, the organization has said that it would conduct another probe into the local market in three months’ time to check whether the violators have been punished in some way and banned from operating in the country without the proper permission.
The Czech Republic has become the second newly regulated jurisdiction PokerStars has entered over the past several months. In November, the poker brand was given the green light to operate in Portugal. It launched its .pt website in December, thus becoming the first licensed poker operator to operate in the market.
PokerStars has been quite consistent in its efforts to behave itself and steer away from unregulated jurisdictions. The online poker brand has been eyeing the big US online gambling pie, which will hopefully become available to iGaming operators at some point in future. However, PokerStars has history with US courts for providing local gambling customers with real-money gaming services in the post-UIGEA period. It is now trying hard to convince US watchdogs that it is ready to leave its murky past behind, hence its continued focus on regulated jurisdictions.
With looming changes in Australia’s iGaming laws, it is believed that PokerStars is gearing up for exit from the local market. Its rival, 888poker, already undertook the step, informing players from Down Under that they would no longer be able to play real-money poker on their platform from mid-January.
