2017 was a good year for the citizens of some of the European segregated markets such as Italy, France, Portugal, and Spain. An agreement was signed on July 6 and it seems 2018 will bring even more deciding steps in this direction.
Spain And France Follow Through
The gaming regulators in France and Spain, ARJEL and DGOJ respectively, have announced that shared tables between players from the two countries are coming as soon as the next few weeks. It’s hard to say which poker rooms will take advantage of that, but the biggest players in the industry are the main suspects.
The news will certainly make the French and Spanish players happy. They could expect more formats to run better traffic, larger tournaments, and possibly, better promotions.
Portugal and Italy Still On The Wait
The situation is not as rosy in Italy and Portugal, though. The Iberian country seems to be working on the matter, but the local laws are way too restrictive. Still, the desire is there and the Portuguese poker player could expect good news at some point in 2018.
Italy is the only country that is obviously not interested in a shared player pool at this point. At least that’s what the politicians of the country think. The local licensing procedures are a nightmare, while the regulators are not sure if the shared pool is a good idea. The Italian poker players are certainly hoping for a change in this mindset soon, but there’s no clear indication what’s going to happen.
Our Two Scents
A shared pool between some of the biggest European markets is as natural as it gets. Of course, it requires a couple of different countries working together and coordinating their laws which is always an issue. We hope things go through easily and the players of rooms such as iPoker.it, Winamax, People’s Poker, and Pokerstars.it would experience even more traffic and promotions.