Online poker in Portugal delayed until November
In 2015, the country approved regulation to make online gaming in the country legal which led to the withdrawal of several major companies, including online poker brands PokerStars and Full Tilt which left the country as these companies offer their services only in regulated markets.
So far, Portugal has awarded only one online licence in the form of a sports betting licence to Betclic Everest, that launched its services just in time for the ongoing Euro 2016 national football team tournament.
However, despite this launch, reports in the country’s media show that Portugal will not go live with a regulated online poker service until at least November 2016, due to issues regarding shared liquidity.
The country’s regulator Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos originally noted that the Portuguese online poker market would be limited to players in the country and liquidity would not be shared with other jurisdictions.
In April 2016, however, the Portuguese players’ association ANAon said that Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos would allow shared liquidity, with the regulator last week releasing a statement presenting its plans.
Should Regulação e Inspeção de Jogos proceed with its plans, it would need to submit them to the European Commission, with countries across the continent then given three months to give their opinion on the matter.
As a result, online poker in Portugal remains unregulated and the service is not be able to go live until November 2016 and maybe longer which further results in the country losing out on tax revenues as players may either wait for full regulation or play on websites that still operate within the grey-market that offer online poker in the country.
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