On July 6, 2017, online poker authorities from France, Italy, Portugal and Spain entered into an online poker liquidity agreement allowing the four countries to link their respective online gambling markets, with the purpose of achieving an attractive volume of liquidity in this gaming segment as well as high-quality protection and compliance standards across these nations.
Just a year after the launch of their shared liquidity operations, French Portuguese and Spanish authorities expressed their general contentment with the evolution of this new shared online eco-system in an official statement reproduced by Spain’s Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ in Spanish).
Since the share liquidity program implementation, numbers show players have preferred tables and tournaments with shared poker player pools over national ones in France, Portugal, and Spain.
The online poker market numbers in France, Portugal, and Spain have also been proving positive. Representatives of the three regulatory entities will disclose detailed information at the shared liquidity session to be held within the framework of ICE London on February 4 at 4 pm.
The regulatory authorities pointed out that, so far, no significant incidents have been experienced in relation to shared liquidity within any of the involved jurisdictions. “Data shows that it is posible to implement a shared liquidity ecosystem among jurisidictions with similar protection standards, resulting in better user experiences without compromising its integrity,” they concluded.
Finally, with the purpose of establishing the bases for a further development, French, Portuguese and Spanish authorities expressed their willingness to cooperate with the rest of the EU or EEA countries, which intend to become signatory members in the future.
