French, Spanish, Portuguese gambling regulators laud shared online poker liquidity evolution, invite other European jurisdictions to join
A year after the official start of the shared online poker liquidity project, the gambling regulators of France, Spain, and Portugal say they are generally satisfied with how the new online shared ecosystem has worked out.
The shared online poker liquidity scheme was introduced in a bid for several of Europe’s biggest gambling markets to revitalize their underperforming online poker sectors. Talks about the project were initiated by the gambling regulators of France, Italy, and Spain, and their Portuguese counterpart joined them in the wake of the reorganization of its digital gambling space.
After several years of discussions, a shared online poker liquidity agreement was signed in the summer of 2017, and first shared poker tables went live in January 2018. PokerStars was the first operator to receive regulatory approval to join the online poker scheme. The company debuted its first shared cash game tables a year ago, allowing its French and Spanish players to play against each other. Portuguese players were included in the scheme a few months later.
Partypoker and Winamax went live with shared liquidity in France and Spain later in 2018. Both online poker operators are yet to enter Portugal’s gambling market, where PokerStars is currently the only licensed provider of online poker.
Further Cooperation with EU/EEA Counterparts
In a joint statement from yesterday, the French (ARJEL), Spanish (DGOJ), and Portuguese (SRIJ) gambling regulators expressed their general satisfaction with the “evolution of this new online shared ecosystem.”
The three regulatory bodies also pointed out that the opportunity for players from the three participating countries to play in shared liquidity cash games and tournaments has improved the performance of the local online poker markets and they have all recorded gains during the first three quarters of 2018.
Representatives from the three regulators will discuss the matter in further detail at a dedicated shared online poker liquidity panel during the upcoming ICE London gaming conference.
According to data from ARJEL, online cash game stakes passed the €1 billion mark in the third quarter of 2018, recording a 13% growth from the same three months of 2017, while tournament fees increased 7% year-on-year to €528 million. Online poker revenue was up 3% to €59 million.
In Spain, cash game revenue rose 24.5% during the third quarter of 2018 to €7.4 million and tournament revenue shot up 42.3% year-on-year, thanks to the shared liquidity project. In Portugal, the local regulator does not separate online poker revenue from the overall online casino gaming revenue, but the country recorded a growth in that segment, as well, and shared liquidity could have had a bit to do with the growth of the market.
In yesterday’s statement, ARJEL, DGOJ, and SRIJ said that they are willing to expand the project and encouraged their counterparts from other EU/EEA countries to consider the benefits of an online poker network that will allow players from different regulated jurisdictions to play against each other.
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