Poker players from 30 countries discovered some bad news on Oct. 1, as they were informed that they not had the chance to play at real-money tables on PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker.
The decision to finish PokerStars and entire Tilt Poker operations in this type of large selection of countries came as a part of a brand new policy adopted by Amaya Gaming, which has chosen to not offer real money gaming within the so-called "gray markets," jurisdictions where the industry isn't explicitly regulated.
This now raises questions about the way forward for the operations in other countries where online poker isn't regulated as Canada, where Amaya is based.
Since the purchase in their parent company Oldford Group Limited by the Amaya Gaming Group, PokerStars and entire Tilt have already undergone several significant changes. These included, amongst others, the launch of the brand new PokerStars 7 client and a gap to the casino world with the inclusion of roulette and blackjack games to PokerStars.es.
Amaya CEO David Baazov says the corporate intends to make use of both PokerStars and entire Tilt to go into new verticals like casino and the sports betting, however the group doesn't seem keen to maintain working in "gray markets" where online games aren't expressly prohibited or strictly regulated.
Although no official list of excluded countries was published, both poker rooms have now closed access to real money games in Malaysia, Turkey, UAE, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Senegal, Nigeria, Bahrain, Afghanistan, Palestinian Territories, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda and the Vatican. Other countries that now not have access to PokerStars and entire Tilt Poker tables are Iran, Iraq, Syria, Zimbabwe, Libya, Sudan, North Korea, Cuba, Myanmar and Yemen.
"Our management team and advisors regularly review our operations market-by-market to evaluate commercial opportunities and business risks for our brands," said a pop-up message that players from the affected countries have found on their screens after launching their poker clients.
"Following a contemporary review we've decided to prevent offering real money games to players who're physically located in, or have a registered address in, a limited selection of countries."
Although not one of the players from the countries above will now be allowed to take a seat at any of the actual money poker tables available on PokerStars and entire Tilt Poker, they all will still have the danger to log into the software and withdraw the funds available on their accounts.
Considering that the list of nations and not using a access to Amaya's poker rooms includes nations which might be either scarcely populated or with limited Internet access, the commercial impact of this move need to be relatively limited for Amaya Gaming.
However, this raises various questions for the way forward for the group's operations in Canada, a rustic where online poker isn't explicitly legal and where Amaya Gaming is headquartered.
Concerns a couple of possible withdrawal of both rooms from the Canadian market also are supported by the truth that earlier this August PokerStars decided to cancel its partnership with the Montreal Festival, a call that many have seen as a touch of the group's intention to drag out from Canada – no less than until online poker is fully regulated within the country.
At the time of the Group's decision to drag out from thirty gray markets became public, Amaya Gaming stock dropped nearly 3 percent on the Toronto Stocks Exchange, dipping to CAD $28.51 before recovering to CAD $30.
Image courtesy of PokerStars
Get all of the latest PokerNews updates in your social media outlets. Follow us on Twitter and prefer us on Facebook now!
Like This newsletter? Please Share, Thank You.
Close
Read More... [Source: PokerNews]
No comments:
Post a Comment