Public statement on the implementation of the agreement concerning online poker liquidity sharing

One year after the materialization of the first poker ring accepting players from more than one of the said jurisdictions, the French, Portuguese and Spanish regulatory authorities convey their general satisfaction on the evolution of this new online shared ecosystem.

In terms of player’s acceptance, since the implementation of the Agreement, participating in shared liquidity tables or tournaments rather than national ones has been the most prominent option among poker players from France, Portugal and Spain.

As a result, the online poker market of France, Portugal and Spain has improved its performance since the implementation of the Agreement, yielding positive figures in each of them. Representatives from the three regulators will be communicating on those figures on the occasion of a session dedicated to liquidity sharing at ICE in London on February 4^th 2019 at 4:00 pm.

Beyond the figures, it is important to state that, until now, there have not been remarkable incidents in implementing a shared liquidity environment in any of the jurisdictions involved. This suggests that it is possible to implement a shared liquidity ecosystem among jurisdictions with an equivalent level of protection, with the result of enhancing consumer experience without compromising their integrity.

Finally, to provide the basis for further development, the regulatory authorities of France, Portugal and Spain express their willingness to cooperate with their European Union or European Economic Area counterparts that may have an interest in signing the Agreement in the future.